The residents of Moriki town in Zurmi LGA, Zamfara State, have successfully persuaded the bandit leader Bello Turji to lower the ransom demand from N50 million to N30 million. They have been given a deadline of Wednesday to make the payment.
It was gathered that the sum is supposedly compensation for the killing of Turji’s cows by the new commander of the Army base stationed inside Moriki.
Each family head is required to contribute N10,000, while unmarried adults were mandated to pay N2,000.
It was further gathered that the villagers are proceeding with the payment despite the commander’s advice that they should not pay the money, and his promise never to harm Turji’s animals again.
The villagers, as gathered by Daily Post, fear that if they fail to meet the demand, Turji will unleash more terror attacks on them, with no one to protect them from his brutality.
Daily Post reports that about fifteen local politicians and social activists are still in Turji’s hostage.
They were abducted from within Moriki despite the presence of soldiers stationed in the village.
