Bandits loyal to notorious warlord, Bello Turji, have unleashed a fresh wave of terror on residents of Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing scores and abducting dozens in coordinated attacks that spanned three days.

The assaults, which took place between Wednesday, August 14, and Friday, August 16, claimed the lives of villagers, a soldier, and a vigilante, while many residents remain missing.

Eyewitnesses told Punch that the gunmen moved from settlement to settlement, leaving trails of fear and destruction.

“On Wednesday, they ambushed travellers along the Yankasuwa–Masawa Road, intercepting vehicles and abducting everyone on board,” one survivor recounted.

The following day, the bandits stormed Garki village, taking away 16 residents. According to reports, one captive was later killed, another released, while three cows were rustled.

By Friday, the gunmen struck Turtsawa and Faru villages, near Sabon Birni town, abducting 28 villagers. Families said they were still searching for missing loved ones.

The Movement for Social Justice in Sokoto State, which has been monitoring the crisis, confirmed the casualty figures, lamenting the scale of insecurity in the area.

“In just four to five days, our records show these coordinated attacks. What we know is based on reports from the ground; there may be more unreported cases. We call on the Sokoto State Government to rise to the occasion and implement our recommendations to end the atrocities committed by Bello Turji’s boys,” the group said in a statement.

Residents have since offered prayers for the victims, urging urgent security intervention to halt what they described as “unrelenting violence” in eastern Sokoto.

Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters has dismissed reports that Bello Turji had surrendered and was considering amnesty.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye told journalists in Abuja last Thursday, “Bello Turji has not surrendered; we are still on the lookout for him.”

Turji, a notorious bandit kingpin operating in Zamfara and Sokoto states, has long been accused of masterminding several bloody raids in the North-West.

Naijaonpoint recalls that Turji recently surrendered his arms and released 32 kidnap victims following a peace initiative brokered by Islamic clerics in Zamfara.