By Kolawole Ojebisi
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has said the days of wanted terrorist kingpin, Bello Turji, are numbered.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Musa, also dismissed the recent outburst of wanted terrorist kingpin, Bello Turji, as mere bravado
The CDS noted that Turji is just trying to put on a bold face while the reality is that he is a terrified terrorist stuck in his hideout following the coordinated massive attacks from men of the Nigerian Army that killed many of his cohorts.
Musa stated this in an interview at an Annual International Lecture in Abuja.
“You can see from the action that he is taking, you will know that he is in a state of panic. He used to be emboldened to go and talk and talk as if he is the only one in charge.
“Now he knows he is not in charge. He knows it is a matter of time because Halilu Buzu that was killed was his master.
“So now that he knows his commander is gone, he knows he is next and so all that he is doing now is mere noise-making,” he said.
The CDS said that the terrorist kingpin had already crossed the line.
He said while the military operations would continue, many of the terrorists would continue to go down.
Speaking on while the war against insurgency seems intractable, Musa identified proximity of Nigeria’s borders to those of countries where insurgency is rife, availability of an army of jobless youth with abject poverty, illiteracy among other factors.
“So they have a large population of youths not doing anything. The more we take them out, the more people are joining them and then you remember, we have a 1,500 kilometre border with Niger Republic.
“We have another border with the Benin Republic and so a lot of people filter in and out within Nigeria. So efforts are being made to ensure that we secure those borders to deny them the ability to move in,” he said.
Musa’s speech is a reaction to Turji’s remarks in a video released on Thursday
Turji, in a video of about five minute forty-seconds duration, had said he was not afraid of death.
According to the video, Turji confirmed the death of Halilu Sububu, a fearsome and prominent member of the terrorist group.
He, however, boasted that Sububu’s death won’t cow the remaining members of the armed bandits into silence.
Turji stressed that he is not averse to dialogue but he won’t die like a coward.
The video was released two days after President Tinubu said in his Independence anniversary broadcast that his administration is winning the war against banditry and allied insurgency in the North.
Ali Ndume, a Senator representing Borno South, had on Wednesday urged Tinubu to hire mercenaries to wipe out what he described as “remnants of bandits” in the North.
Turji is among the 43 terrorists in the North West declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters following incessant attacks by the armed group.
