Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes in northwestern Nigeria after a notorious armed gang leader ordered an entire community to evacuate in retaliation for a recent security operation, officials and residents said on Wednesday.
Authorities say Bello Turji heads one of several heavily armed gangs operating across Nigeria’s largely Muslim northwest, where they have carried out killings, abductions and ransom attacks targeting villagers, farmers, students and motorists.
Residents of Tidibale community said Turji accused locals of tipping off security forces, leading to a military raid that reportedly killed one of his fighters. In response, he ordered the entire community to leave.
According to Basharu Altine Guyawa, Sokoto State coordinator of the Movement for Social Justice and Good Governance, Turji visited Tidibale about three days ago and killed three people to enforce the order.
“He warned that if anyone remained when he returned, they would be killed. He said he would not spare even a chicken,” Guyawa said.
The escalating violence has drawn international attention, with U.S. President Donald Trump recently criticising the Nigerian government over its handling of insecurity, particularly the killing of Christians. Nigerian authorities maintain that armed gangs and militant groups target both Christians and Muslims and insist there is no systematic persecution of Christians.
Northwestern Nigeria is also affected by Islamist militant groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which have waged an insurgency in parts of the country for over 15 years. Last month, the United States carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in the region.
The Sokoto State Police confirmed that residents were fleeing Tidibale out of fear of further attacks and said additional police personnel had been deployed to the area.
Local authorities have been transporting displaced residents by truck to Isa, a town about 50 kilometres away. Muhammad Ibrahim, secretary of the community security committee in Isa, said more than 3,000 people had been relocated, with some sheltering in local schools.
“There is a humanitarian crisis. Educational activities have come to a halt,” he said.
Tidibale is located about 100 kilometres east of Sokoto, the state capital. Local activists warn that dozens of villages across the northwest have been deserted as attacks by armed gangs intensify.
“The past three weeks have been horrific. Killings and abductions have continued,” said Usman Musa, a father of 15 who fled to Isa. “The government has ignored us. I want them to flush these bandits out.”
