By Milcah Tanimu

The Grand Alliance of Coalition of Northern Youths Movement (GANOM) has sounded the alarm over allegations circulating on social media, purportedly made by notorious bandit leader Bello Turji, which they say aim to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s efforts in combating insecurity in the northwest region ahead of the 2027 elections.

GANOM dismissed the allegations as baseless and likened them to a poorly-scripted Nollywood movie orchestrated by Turji and his associates both within and outside Zamfara State. The coalition’s chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf, claimed on Monday that Turji often makes unfounded accusations against perceived political enemies of his sponsors, who manipulate him to sway northern opinion against President Tinubu’s potential reelection.

“Our attention has been drawn to a viral video on social media where one of the notorious bandits’ kingpins known as Bello Turji was making an allegation against some notable political leaders in the North-West including the former Governor of Zamfara State and the current Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle and current Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu,” Yusuf said.

GANOM emphasized that those calling on President Tinubu to replace Matawalle over the video are unpatriotic and intent on sowing discord among Nigerians against a southern president, similar to the tactics used against Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.

Yusuf argued that the ongoing military operations in the North-West are significantly impacting Turji’s strongholds, which has made his sponsors unhappy. He called for intensified military efforts against criminal elements in areas such as Shinkafi, Sabon Birni, Isa, Zurmi, Jibia, and other regions in Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger States.

He also pointed out that Turji’s accusations have not been limited to Matawalle, as he has previously implicated former Zamfara State Governor Ahmed Sani Yerima and the late Emir of Zurmi, Atiku Abubakar, in allegedly sponsoring bandits.

Yusuf questioned the effectiveness of security agencies, particularly the Department of State Security Service, in screening public officials. He suggested that these agencies must have cleared Matawalle if there were no substantial evidence against him, contrary to Turji’s claims.

GANOM stressed that Turji is merely playing a political script to tarnish the reputations of innocent individuals and undermine President Tinubu’s government, which they claim is more committed to securing Nigeria than ever before.

The coalition urged security agencies to investigate the social media user who recorded and shared the interview with Turji, suspecting them to be close allies of the Zamfara state government. They also called on President Tinubu to address economic hardships in the country to prevent his political opponents from using such tactics to destabilize his administration.