A NOTORIOUS bandit leader, Turji, yesterday went on rampage in Shinkafi Local Government Area of the state, holding a lot of villages as hostages over the arrest of his father.
According to a report by Daily Trust, about 150 locals were captured by the bandit’s group.
It was further disclosed that the villages ransacked during the raid are Kurya, Keta, Kware, Badarawa, Marisuwa, Maberaya.
The neighbouring communities within the Kware District in the Shinkafi LGA have been threatened to vacate their homes or face dire consequences.
Turji is also said to have listed about 32 villages in different districts of Shinkafi for attacks, blaming the residents for conspiring with security operatives against his family.
It was gathered that dozens of residents, including women and children, have left their homes and are taking shelter in relatively safer places in Shinkafi town.
Kware, a community located 22 km southeast of Shinkafi town, the headquarters of Shinkafi Local Government Area, is known for its vast sugarcane, onion and tomato plantations.
Residents of the community had to scamper out of their homes in droves, abandoning their farmlands and businesses as the bandits vowed to make lives unbearable for them.
Some residents disclosed that Turji’s boys had earlier met them while they were working on their farmlands and delivered a message they said was from their leader.
They said residents of Kware, Atarawa, Ursasa and 27 other communities had only 24 hours to leave.
“They carted away more than 300 cows and other domestic animals. They looted shops and houses. And I can tell you that apart from those that were able to escape the onslaught, dozens are still trapped in those communities.
“The bandits have stopped them from getting out of the communities and they are seizing their phones and other valuables. We are in serious trouble,” a resident, Lawali Dangaladima said.
The special adviser to Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle on security matters, DIG Ibrahim Mamman Tsafe (retd), revealed that the situation is under investigation.
