Farmers in Zamfara and Niger States are once again under siege as notorious bandit warlord Bello Turji reportedly demands ₦50 million from rural communities to permit them access to their own farmlands this planting season. Security analyst Bakatsine revealed the extortion on social media, noting that Turji’s demand affects villages from Tsalaken Gulbi in Shinkafi LGA to the Qaya axis near the Niger border.
Turji is known for violent raids, kidnappings, and imposing “levies” on rural residents in Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto States. His latest demand exemplifies the breakdown of state authority in rural northwest Nigeria, where criminal networks now rival — and sometimes surpass — state control. The silence or inability of federal and state forces to neutralize Turji continues to fuel frustration and despair among affected populations.