Thousands of people fled their homes in northwestern Nigeria this week after the leader of an armed gang in the region ordered them out in response to a security raid, officials and residents said Wednesday.
Authorities say Bello Turji leads one of several armed gangs that terrorize predominantly Muslim northwestern Nigeria, killing and kidnapping residents, farmers, students and motorists for ransom.
The violence in Africa's most populous country has drawn the attention of US President Donald Trump, who has accused the government of failing to stop the killing of Christians. Nigeria says gangs and terrorists target both Christians and Muslims, and Christians are not systematically persecuted.
Residents of the northwestern Tidibel community say Turzi is suspected of being responsible for a tip-off from the community to security forces that led to a recent military operation that killed one of their men.
Sokoto State coordinator of the Social Justice and Good Governance Movement, Basharu Altene Guyawa, said Turji visited Tidibele three days ago and killed three people to enforce his order to leave the community.
“He told them that if there was anyone left when he returned, they would be killed. He said he would not leave even a single chicken behind,” Guiva said.
Islamist militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram are also active in the region, where an insurgency has continued for 15 years. Last month, the United States launched strikes against Islamic State militants in the northwest.
A Sokoto police spokesperson said residents were fleeing the Tidibel community out of fear of attacks and more police had been deployed to the area.
Local authorities are taking people by truck to Isa, about 50 km (30 miles) away. Muhammad Ibrahim, secretary of the community security committee in Isa, said more than 3,000 people had been relocated, including schools in the city.
“There is a humanitarian crisis there. Educational activities have stopped,” Ibrahim said.
Tidibel is located about 100 km east of Sokoto, the state capital. Dozens of villages have been abandoned as violence from armed gangs escalates in Nigeria's north-west, local activists have warned.
“The last three weeks were horrific. The killings and kidnappings continue,” said Osman Musa, the father of 15 children who fled Israel. “The government has ignored us. I want them to throw out these bandits.”
