The cat-and-mouse game between the Nigerian state and the terror networks of the North West continued today in Abuja. The Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, has issued immediate arrest warrants for key associates of the notorious bandit warlord Bello Turji, after they brazenly failed to appear for their terrorism trial.

The courtroom was tense as the names were called out to silence. The defendants—Lucky Chukwuma, Hashimu, and others—are accused of being the logistical backbone of Turji’s empire, supplying the drugs and intelligence that fuel the banditry in Zamfara and Sokoto. Their absence was not just a procedural error; it was a calculated insult to the judiciary.

The Shadow of Turji

Bello Turji himself remains a ghost, a phantom who taunts the military on social media while his men terrorize villagers. The trial of his associates was meant to be a symbolic victory, a sign that the law was closing in. Instead, today’s events highlighted the impotence of the system. "How do you lose suspects on bail?" asked a security analyst outside the court. "This smells of collusion or gross incompetence."

Justice Nwite was visibly irritated. "The court is not a marketplace," he declared, revoking their bail and ordering the Inspector General of Police to produce them "by any means necessary." But in a country where Turji collects taxes and imposes his own laws, a court order from Abuja feels like a piece of paper in a hurricane.

• The Charges: The suspects face an 11-count charge of terrorism financing and drug trafficking. Intelligence reports link them to the supply of Tramadol and motorcycles to Turji’s camps—essential lifelines for the insurgency.
• The Security Failure: The fact that these individuals could simply vanish speaks volumes about the porous nature of Nigeria’s security surveillance. It reinforces the fear that the bandits have infiltrated the very institutions meant to fight them.

As the hunt for the fugitives begins, the victims of Bello Turji wait in vain for justice. Today, the courtroom was empty, but the graveyards in Zamfara are full. The state must decide if it is fighting a war or playing a charade.