Dare Babalola
No fewer than 32 kidnapped persons were released by Zamfara terrorism kingpin, Bello Turji, with a promise never to attack farmers again.
The freed persons, including children and women, had spent about four months in captivity.
This follows a series of meetings with some Islamic clerics in his hideout, according to a report by Premium Times.
The development was made known in Kaduna by a cleric popularly known as Asadus-Sunnah, Musa Yusuf, at a religious gathering.
The terrorist was said to have surrendered his arms in the Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
According to the cleric, residents of the LGA had earlier pleaded with Turji to stop attacking them on their farms located in the forest.
He said, “We met Mr Turji, Dan Bakkolo, Black, Kanawa and Malam Ila. The speculation that Dan Bakkolo was killed is not true. These people are the ones terrorising the axis, and they all agreed to the peace proposals, one of which is for them to surrender some of their arms to show commitment to the peace process.
“They surrendered the arms in three phases at different times, and allowed the residents of Shinkafi to access their farms in the forest across the river heading to Mr Turji enclaves. We agreed that the Fulanis must be allowed to go to town without being stereotyped or killed by the vigilante.
“He (Turji) also released 32 kidnapped captives as part of the peace agreement,” Yusuf said.
He also showed the video of some of the released captives and the difficult terrain they crossed to reach Turji’s camp.
