Bandit Attacks: Christian Clerics, Others Call for Arrest of 2 Former Northern Governors
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT, Abuja - President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to order the arrest of former governors Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State and Ahmed Sani Yerima of Zamfara State.
The Concerned Northern Inter-Faith Clergy for Peace accused the two former governors of laying the foundations for the rampant banditry terrorising the North-West region.
Source: UGC
The interfaith body comprises imams, pastors, bishops, and other spiritual leaders
The clerics led by Bishop Sunday Bawa made this known during a press conference held in Abuja and made available to Legit.ng.
The group of interfaith religious leaders from northern Nigeria referenced a widely circulated video earlier released by notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji.
In the video, Turji accused Bafarawa and Yerima of arming vigilante groups, known as Yan Banga, to target and kill Fulani communities.
Tiurji added that the former governors also seized and sold vast grazing reserves designated for herders.
According to Turji, these actions sparked ethnic tensions and cycles of reprisal attacks that escalated into the current wave of kidnappings, massacres, and cattle rustling.
The clergy in a statement signed by Imam Sheikh Yusuf Sarki, Bishop Pius Dauda, and 10 others said:
"Even though Turji is a confessed terrorist... we cannot ignore his words."
The group explained that the allegations point to deep-rooted issues of land dispossession and armed vigilantism that allowed criminal gangs to evolve into the "monsters" now plaguing the region.
The cletics criticised Bafarawa and Yerima’s responses as "empty echoes" and denials.
They noted that the former governors claimed there was no significant banditry when they left office in 2007 and questioned the timing of the accusations.
"Time heals no guilt," the clerics retorted, arguing that evasion only fuels suspicion and impunity.
In a direct Yuletide appeal to President Tinubu, the group urged him to "immediately direct the arrest and prosecution" of the two former governors for "alleged acts that laid the foundations of this terror."
Nigerian soldiers kill top bandit warlord in Sokoto
Recall that Nigerian troops killed a notorious bandit commander, Kachalla Kallamu, during a major operation in Sabon Birni, Sokoto state.
According to security experts, Kachalla's death caused serious disarray within Bello Turji’s network.
Security analysts said the breakthrough signalled intensified government pressure on major bandit factions.
Turji alleges former northern governors fuelling Insecurity
Legit.ng earlier reported that terrorist Bello Turji alleged that two former northern governors are fueling insecurity in the country, especially in the North.
The dreaded bandit leader specifically mentioned an ex-Sokoto State governor and his former Zamfara State counterpart.
Turji called for the arrest and investigation of the ex-governors over what he described as their roles in the security crisis bedeviling the North.
Source: Legit.ng
