SOKOTO – Unverified intelligence circulating among security and local sources indicates that notorious terrorist and bandit kingpin Turji Bello may have been eliminated in a targeted airstrike conducted over Sokoto yesterday.
The operation, reportedly carried out by United States military assets, is said to have focused on a high-value target location linked to terrorist command and control in the region. While official confirmation from Nigerian or U.S. authorities remains pending, multiple informal channels have flagged the potential demise of Bello, a figure long accused of wreaking havoc across Northwestern Nigeria.
For years, Bello has exerted brutal influence over swathes of Zamfara and Sokoto states, orchestrating violence, imposing illicit taxes, and extracting ransoms from both Christian and Muslim communities. His faction has been implicated in some of the region's most severe atrocities.
Bello distinguished himself from other bandit leaders through his brazen use of social media to broadcast threats, flaunt illicit wealth, and disseminate footage of his group's activities, cementing his notoriety.
Initial, unconfirmed reports suggest that Bello, who had allegedly relocated his base to Sokoto in recent months, was among the primary targets of yesterday's operation along with other senior terrorist commanders.
The airstrike follows heightened international scrutiny of terrorist safe havens in Nigeria. This development comes shortly after former U.S. President Donald J. Trump's designation of Nigeria as a "Country of Particular Concern" and his stated intent to directly confront jihadist networks operating within its borders.
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