Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State believes the reign of terror unleashed on the state and its environs by notorious and wanted bandit leader Bello Turji will soon come to an end.

Governor Lawal is also positive that the bandit leader will soon be apprehended or eliminated.

“It’s only a matter of time,” the governor said on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today when asked about the likelihood that the notorious bandit will be stopped.

“With what we have in place, with the collaboration between us (the state government) and the Federal Government, security agencies, believe me, it is only a matter of time; Turji would be killed very, very soon.”

The governor’s comments come just days after the military made significant gains against bandits, killing wanted bandit leader Halilu Sububu, who had been terrorising citizens in Zamfara, Sokoto and other parts of the North-West.

Sububu and more than 30 other bandits were killed last week.

‘Sustain this pressure’
The governor does not expect the elimination of the Turji to end to banditry in the state but he is confident “it will bring it down significantly”.

Governor Lawal believes the military is on the right trajectory and must not let up.

This is crucial for ending banditry completely, according to him.

“What we need to do is to sustain this military pressure,” he said.

“If we are able to sustain this pressure within the next two weeks to one month, believe me, it will be a different story as far as banditry is concerned.”

Apart from being a hotbed for banditry in the country, Zamfara State has also been in the news for illegal mining with mineral resources running into millions of dollars being carted away.

Non-state actors have been reported to be significantly involved in illegal mining activities and there have been reports that illegal miners fund some of the bandits.

“There is correlation between banditry and, to some extent, these mining activities. You can’t rule that out,” Governor Lawal said.

To curb the illegal mining activities, the governor wants a review of the way the mining sector is coordinated.

This, he explained, is to ensure “proper collaboration between the Federal Government — because mining is on the exclusive list, however, the land belongs to the state government”.

“So, there must be that synergy between the two,” he added.

As things stand, he said it is difficult to even determine the number of licensed miners in the state.

He also explained that the state has no clue about revenue that the Federal Government generates from mining there.