Farmers in ts Emirate Council in Birnin Gwari Area Council, Kaduna State, have lamented that they paid terrorist bandits N400 million to be allowed to go to their farms.
Newsonline reports that Alhaji Zubairu Abdulra’uf, a community leader from the Birnin Gwari Emirate Council who disclosed also revealed that different bandits operate in the emirate.
The bandits also demanded a 10kg bag of grains from the farmers outside the N400 million paid, during the harvesting season.
He lamented that the citizens of Birnin Gwari Emirate Council are resorting to self-defense as it seems security forces have been over-powered.
Alhaji Zubairu Abdulra’uf, stated that without the payment of the huge sum, their farmers would not have been able to go to the farm.
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Alhaji Zubairu Abdulra’uf, further stated that the farmers paid N400 million, as the bandits have taken over their whole farms and forests.
Abdulra’uf who spoke to newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday disclosed the activities of bandits in communities paralyzed economic activities, especially in the rural areas.
He lamented that residents of Birnin Gwari Emirate Council cannot undertake safe travels because they may be kidnapped by the bandits.
Abdulra’uf further disclosed that “N200 million was paid to bandits in the Randegi district alone.
“When you talk of Birnin-Gwari Local Government as a whole, it’s between N300 million to N400 million paid to these bandits.”
Abdulra’uf said the payment is in three stages, pre-season and mid-season when the crops are about to start yielding, end of the season when the farmers are harvesting, they will also pay the bandits before they access their farms.
Abdulra’uf also revealed that except from the N400 million already paid to the bandits, each farmer also gives between two to 10 bags of grains to the bandits.
He said the residents of Birnin-Gwari have been paying the levies for over three years, lamenting the frustration. He said since the government cannot protect them, they have chosen to arm themselves.
Recall that Newsonline had reported that Senator Shehu Sani, former senator of Kaduna Central had raised an alarm that bandits operating at Birnin-Gwari, Ansaru, imposed a no campaign order on the emirate.
The Ansaru bandits also went ahead to flog some of the residents for flouting their orders.
