I’m not doing this for personal gain, never possessed N5m — Bello Turji

I’m not doing this for personal gain, never possessed N5m — Bello Turji

Notorious bandit leader Bello Turji has publicly said what is doing is not for personal gain, adding that he has never possessed even five million naira.

Turji said this while denying receiving ₦30 million or vehicles from the Zamfara State Government during the peace meetings held under the administration of former Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle, now the Minister of State for Defence.

Turji confirmed his participation in a series of peace meetings with the state government but firmly refuted the financial claims in a viral video circulating on social media.

The denial follows allegations made by Musa Kamarawa, a former peace mediator appointed by the Sokoto and Zamfara State Governments, who claimed that the Matawalle administration shared money and vehicles with bandits, specifically alleging that Turji received ₦30 million.

Turji dismissed Kamarawa’s claims as “full of lies and deceit.” He insisted that the peace talks were genuinely aimed at reducing violence, but no money or vehicles were provided to him or any Fulani leader.

“By Allah, since I was born, I have never possessed even five million naira,” Turji said in the video. “What I am doing is not for personal gain. We were never given the ₦30 million being mentioned. I did not even receive three million naira.”

The bandit leader also sought to distance himself from political interests, stating: “We are not politicians, and we are not tools of politicians. There is no human being backing us.”