That truce with Turji

The Zamfara State government says Bello Turji has “Agreed to stop the criminality and to embrace peace” and is “Now killing unrepentant bandits”. I think the government needs to be very careful to not repeat the mistakes of the past. They have previously announced similar deals, including with Belo Turji’s gang, only for the gangs […]

The Zamfara State government says Bello Turji has “Agreed to stop the criminality and to embrace peace” and is “Now killing unrepentant bandits”. I think the government needs to be very careful to not repeat the mistakes of the past. They have previously announced similar deals, including with Belo Turji’s gang, only for the gangs to go back on their words.  

Asked in a Daily Trust documentary aired last March why he reneged on previous agreements, Turji accused the government of violating the agreements but failed to give details. Past agreements failed to work because the government did not properly plan and implement the past demobilisations. Proper demobilisation requires (1) demobilisation (2) disarmament (3) rehabilitation (4) reinsertion and (5) regular follow ups. None of this was done. They just claimed to have “repented” and brought the weapons they wanted to give up. The government simply collected what they brought and gave them money. The state government is repeating exactly the same mistake.   

Most worrying to me is the government’s announcement that this repugnant kingpin is “Now killing unrepentant bandits” with the support of the government. Essentially, a terrorist has been appointed by the government to serve the judge and jury and the executioner of people suspected of criminality and terrorism. Turji has been licensed to continue his business of killing people,  only that it is with the government’s approval now. A terrorist has been appointed to replace our security and law enforcement agencies as well as our military. How could this happen in a country that is supposed to have laws and systems?  

Now that the government is saying this, I would not be surprised if they have started or would soon start to support Bello Turji and his men with more arms, vehicles and logistics to continue to “help” them “kill unrepentant bandits”. What if Turji suddenly decided to renege as we have seen in the past? And there is a high probability that he will renege yet again, because, as I explained above, nothing has been put in place to stop him.  

Lest we forget, Turji’s last mass atrocity was the burning of 23 travellers last December in Sokoto State. His men set the bus carrying innocent travellers, including a pregnant woman, ablaze and watched with delight as they burnt to ashes. Turji confessed to killing these travellers on camera. He has not paid for any of his atrocities and now he has become a trusted ally of the Zamfara State government. Nothing can be more insensitive and stupid. How would you convince communities to forgive when no semblance of justice was even tried? Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes by Turji, litter the cities and towns of Zamfara begging on the streets and living in unspeakable conditions. The government has not helped with even their basic needs, but the same government is now working with their killer.  This deal sends a terrible signal to terrorist and criminal gangs. It essentially says: ‘You will get a good deal if you are as ruthless and lawless as Turji’.   

My instinct is that this deal was stitched up by desperate politicians in a rush to score some cheap political points in the few months before the next election. As much as I want it to succeed, I do not see this auguring well for Zamfara State and Nigeria.   

 

Bulama Bukarti, Senior Fellow, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change