SOKOTO/MAKURDI/ABUJA, Jan. 13, 2026 — Residents of communities in eastern Sokoto State, particularly Tidibale in Isa Local Government Area, are fleeing in large numbers after renewed threats from notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji, local accounts said, deepening displacement in a region already strained by recurring attacks and fragile community “peace” arrangements.
Vanguard reported that families have been moving toward Isa town, Gidan Hamisu, and Shinkafi in neighbouring Zamfara State, abandoning homes and farmlands amid fears the warnings could precede fresh violence. A video circulating online showed vehicles transporting people and belongings out of affected villages.
Local observers quoted by Vanguard said Turji’s posture follows months of relative quiet and appears aimed at reasserting control over communities that have not aligned with him. Several settlements in Shinkafi LGA — including Shinkafi town, Katuru, Jangeru and Kanwa — were reported to have entered into a truce in which communities pledge not to confront or report his activities, a decision residents described as survival-driven rather than supportive.
Security fears have also escalated in Benue State, where at least five people — including Igbabe Ochi, a former councillor and the 2019 PDP House of Assembly candidate for Otukpo-Akpa constituency — were killed in a midnight attack on Otobi/Akpa community in Otukpo LGA, according to residents and local security reports.
Accounts cited by Vanguard said the attackers stormed the community around 1:30 a.m., targeting a provision shop where residents were gathered, killing four people at the location and looting food items before fleeing into surrounding bush as youths mobilised.
Amid the renewed violence, the United States has delivered critical military supplies to Nigeria, with the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) saying the handover in Abuja was intended to support Nigeria’s ongoing operations and underscore the bilateral security partnership. AFRICOM did not specify the equipment delivered.
The delivery follows a period of expanded U.S.–Nigeria security coordination, including intelligence support and U.S. action last month targeting Islamic State-linked elements in northwest Nigeria, according to Reuters.
As communities weigh flight, truce, or resistance, analysts warn that displacement patterns in Sokoto East — coupled with persistent killings in parts of Benue — underline the widening humanitarian and governance toll of Nigeria’s insecurity crisis.
