Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, the former governor of Sokoto, has refuted terrorist kingpin Bello Turji’s claims that he is one of the powers fueling terrorism and banditry in the country’s north.
He accused Turji of being a tool for tarnishing his reputation.
The militant leader had taken to Facebook to accuse Bafarawa and another former Zamfara governor of being the driving force behind the growing instability in the north, but he did not provide facts about their role in the atrocities that are now claiming lives and property in that region of the country.
However, Bafarawa, who commanded Sokoto State from 1999 to 2007, told Vanguard in a phone conversation that he had never advocated any type of violence or criminality against anyone or the state.
Bafarawa, who expressed disbelief at the bandit leader’s assertion, told Vanguard in an interview that there was no banditry or terrorism in Sokoto or Zamfara State when he left government in 2007 and that he knew no one named Bello Turji.
The former governor, who founded the Democratic People’s Party and flew its presidential flag in the 2007 election, said Turji must be daydreaming by mentioning his name among Nigerian terrorism sponsors and questioned why he would be involved in such an action nearly 20 years after leaving office as governor.
Bafarawa said, “Where was Bello Turji when I was governor of Sokoto State, and how old was he then? I had nothing to do with him, and I still have nothing to do with him and his cohorts.
“What do I stand to benefit from banditry or terrorism at my age?
“It is shocking to me that a character like that is spewing pure lies against my name. He is just being used by some forces to lie from the pit of hell against me.
“I remain irrevocably committed to peace and stability in my state and Nigeria and can never venture into anything that can destabilize the society.
“It is absolute rubbish that Turji is talking about, and I know that he is only trying to use my name to satisfy the interest of those goading him to make this unfounded claim against me,” the former presidential candidate said.
It should be noted that Turji, in a viral video released on Sunday, accused previous political leaders in Zamfara and Sokoto states of laying the groundwork for the region’s long-standing insecurity.
The bandit explicitly mentioned the previous Sokoto governor and his former Zamfara State counterpart as being responsible for the increased insecurity and demanded their arrest and inquiry.
“We openly say that former governors of Zamfara and Sokoto states are responsible for the calamities that befell these states,” Turji claimed.
