They Invite Bandit Kingpin Bello Turji to Partner With Them
By: Luka Binniyat
(Kaduna) Flipping the script on persecuted Nigerian Christians who are starting to get the attention of world leaders, the man accused of leading the pogroms against them has founded a Fulani Self-Defense Group.
Alhaji Bello Bodejo, the Nigerian head of the controversial Cattle Cartel called Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore (MAKH) said on Jan 17 that his new 2,000 man vigilante group will take a bite out of crime.
Yet his exclusive socio-cultural group of Nigerian Fulani Muslim herdsmen stand accused of heinous crimes against Nigeria Christians, including the murder of 295 unarmed Christians in Plateau State a month ago.
With the applause of Nigerian Police and Army brass at a public event in Lafia, just 75 miles from Abuja, Bodejo announced recruitment 2,140 members in the Nigeria Middle Belt state of Nasarawa . He says he hopes to arm it in the future and create parallel Fulani militia in every state of Nigeria, TruthNigeria can confirm.
The group, named Nomadic Vigilante, whose members were dressed in deep green uniform and black beret, seems to have the endorsement of the Federal Government of Nigeria, though the Federal Government has not issued a statement to that effect yet,
The Nigeria Army and the Nigeria Police Force sent their representatives to endorse the creation of the group.
Bodejo, the President of MAKH, at the launch of the group said the Nomadic Vigilante is a semi-security outfit that will protect both nomadic herdsmen and sedentary farmers from criminals, a claimed rebuffed by the President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Bitrus Pogu.
Bodejo went further to say that, “The nomad vigilante group is not merely an initiative; it is a manifestation of our shared commitment to economic, job creation, inclusivity, and the relentless fight against banditry, cattle rustling, hunger and poverty,” he was quoted by Leadership as saying.
“The group will serve as a proactive stance against these threats by facilitating our farmers and herders and other communities in Nasarawa and the country as a whole from the shadows of insecurity,” Leadership reports.
Speaking after the launch to Abdul Halilu, a Hausa Radio Station reporter in an exclusive chat, Bodejo said that the Nomadic Vigilante has over 2,000 members.
“The aim of forming the group also includes helping the Army and the police to look for wanted persons, so that innocent ones will be spared undue punishment,” he said.
Asked if it has the approval of government before its formation, Bodejo said, “we have not yet gotten any approval, but we are sure we shall have no problem with that,” he said in Hausa to the reporter in a video that has gone viral since Wednesday.
Nigerian human rights advocates have fingered Bodejo as a sponsor and mastermind of the mass killings in the Middle Belt of Nigeria by armed Terrorists speaking the language of the Fulani tribe, one of Nigeria’s largest. In the interview he revealed that MAKH had set out to recruit 4,000 members for the vigilante force , but had so far gotten 2,140. He said that group would be replicated in all the states of Nigeria.
When the reporter asked Bodejo if the group will bear firearms, the controversial MAKH leader said, “The Fulani man is known to always carry his herding stick. But as it stands now, it has become necessary to armed them with guns that the laws of the land allow. If the law says that they should bear arms, then we shall look for arms and give them, “he said.
In Nigeria, only the President or the Inspector General of Police can issue license only for non-combat weapons, but even at that, licensing of all forms of arms has been stopped since 2018.
Nigeria’s most notorious bandit to join new group
When prodded further during the interview he said, “We shall reach out to whoever will assist in improving security. In fact, we shall reach out to Bello Turji to come out and join us so that we help Nigeria to become a more secured and safe country,” he said. Turji is among the most wanted bandit kingpins, linked to terrorism, banditry, sex slavery, mass murder of people and mass kidnapping. (All interpreted from Hausa)
Nigeria Army and Nigeria Police also in attendance
Though Bodejo, made allusion that MAKH has yet to get the approval of government for the formation of its vigilante group, the Nigeria Army and the Nigeria Police were nonetheless well represented at the launch of the new herdsmen group in Lafia.
The commandant, Nigeria Army 177 Guard Battalion, Keffi, Lt. Col. Inuwa Bala spoke at the occasion and urged the new outfit to abide by the rule of engagement that was given to them, Leadership reported.
Likewise, the Nasarawa state commissioner of police, Umar Shehu Nadada, was represented by the assistant commissioner of police (Operations), Abdulaziz Aliyu, who urged the new outfit to work in synergy with the security agencies to rid the state of criminals, Leadership added.
Middle Belt urges Christians to form their own vigilante group
But the President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr Bitrus Pogu said that the formation of the Nomadic Vigilante was a ruse to speed the flow of arms to the Fulani terrorists. Pogu urged other ethnic groups to form their own self-defense units to and protect themselves against the Fulani.
(The Middle Belt of Nigeria, sometimes as the Christian Belt of the North, covers about two-thirds of the 356,669 square miles landmass of of Nigeria and is made up of hundreds on indigenous nationalities of different tongues, but who are mainly Christians”
Speaking on phone to Truth Nigeria from Abuja, Pogu, who hails from Chibok, Borno State, where Boko Haram Islamic terrorists kidnapped 247 Christian schools were kidnapped in 2014, said, “The Fulani have been arming their members to carry out atrocities in the Middle Belt. Now they want to see if they can use some of their light weapons legally. It is nothing new. The only unfortunate aspect is that we in the Middle Belt are too timid in trying to defend ourselves,” he said.
“Now that they have come out to form their group, we should stop whining and form our own. Let us form our own and stand up to them,” he said.
Luka Binniyat is an award wining Journalist and a social commentator based in Kaduna Nigeria and writes on crime, conflicts and politics.
