Zamfara’s notorious terrorist leader, Bello Turji, has reportedly freed 32 kidnapped victims and agreed to halt his attacks on farmers following a series of negotiations facilitated by Islamic clerics.
The breakthrough came after multiple meetings between Turji and the clerics in the dense forests of Shinkafi Local Government Area.
Musa Yusuf, a prominent cleric known as Asadus-Sunnah, shared details of the talks on Monday during a religious gathering in Kaduna.
Yusuf revealed that Turji, alongside his allies, surrendered some of their weapons and allowed Shinkafi residents to access their farms, which had been off-limits due to ongoing terror activities.
The clerics were approached by the residents of Shinkafi to mediate in their struggle to return to farming.
The talks, which spanned three sessions in July, took place in the Fakai forest, where Turji and his lieutenants – Dan Bakkolo, Black, Kanawa, and Malam Ila – agreed to several peace proposals, including the return of some arms.
Yusuf also disclosed that the 32 captives, who had been held for around four months, were released as part of the peace deal.
Among the freed were women and children, some of whom had suffered harrowing conditions, including a snake bite and childbirth while in captivity.
Since the peace talks, the Shinkafi area has experienced relative calm, allowing locals to cultivate their farms without fear of being abducted. While the clerics continue to negotiate with Turji for a total cessation of violence, they have refrained from demanding that he surrender all his weapons, citing concerns over his vulnerability to rival groups opposing the peace process.
Yusuf also urged fellow clerics not to escalate the situation with inflammatory remarks, warning that such statements could worsen the fragile peace.
The cleric commended various leaders, including President Bola Tinubu and the Governor of Zamfara State, for supporting a non-violent approach to resolving the region’s security challenges. Despite these developments, experts caution that while the immediate area may be experiencing peace, the broader terrorist threat in Zamfara is far from over.
