Theatre Commander of Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY), Maj.-Gen. Wara Idris has vowed that the notorious bandit leader terrorising parts of the North West, Bello Turji, would soon become history.

“All things being equal, Bello Turji will soon be history to the region of Nigerian Northwest,” Idris told Defence correspondents, who were on a tour of Gusau yesterday.

During the trip, organised by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Idris said that though Turji has been elusive, he assured that with the current drive of the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, and the Theatre Command, “Turji will soon be history.”

He added: “I’m saying this because, based on the most current intelligence received, Bello Turji, Gwaska and Nkaremi are currently in confusion and panic. This is because of the intensity of our current operations.

“They are relocating after every few hours, every few days. This further portrays the aspect of human intelligence that we are talking about. Human intelligence is being actively utilised. Leaders of the bandit groups are being proactively pursued through all available intelligence, all available platforms.”

This came as the Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, issued a bench warrant for five suspects linked to Turji. Justice Emeka Nwite made the order after counsel for the Federal Government, David Kaswe, moved the oral application to that effect.

The development followed the absence of the defendants in court to stand their trial. They include Musa Kamarawa, Abubakar Hashimu (aka Doctor); Samuel Chinedu, and Lucky Chukwuma.

When the case was called for the continuation of the trial, none of the four defendants was in court. Justice Nwite then asked their lawyer, A.M. Lukman, about their whereabouts.

Responding, Lukman told the court that he reached out to the 1st defendant (Kamarawa) and he promised that they would be coming to court.
The lawyer, however, expressed surprise that the defendants were not in court.

Kaswe then informed the court that they were in court with their witnesses as promised. He, therefore, applied for a bench warrant be issued for the defendants’ arrest, which the judge granted.

Justice Nwite, subsequently, adjourned the matter till February 24 for continuation of the trial. The judge had, on December 22, 2025, granted an application filed by the Federal Government to reopen the terrorism charge against the five suspects.