According to reports, farmers in Yanshuni village, Bakori Local Government Area, Katsina State, have paid a notorious bandit leader ₦7.5 million as a “tax” to have access to their farmlands.
AFRIPOST reports that this troubling development has further increased the power of bandits in northern Nigeria.
According to Bakatsine, a security analyst residing in the North, the payment is half of a ₦15 million fee that the gang leader, Kwashen-garwa, levied on the farming community.
The remaining ₦7.5 million is anticipated to be paid following the current harvest and farming season, according to local sources.
Bakatsine reported that the transaction took place on Saturday night, coinciding with demonstrations along the Bakori–Funtua road, where locals voiced their displeasure with the government’s ongoing inaction in the face of insecurity.
An angered and frustrated farmer told Bakatsine, “It’s either we pay or abandon our farms. “We can’t afford to lose both our lives and our livelihoods.”
AFRIPOST further gathered that the bandit leader has been operating in the area with impunity, obtaining protection fees from communities that are at risk of attack.
Meanwhile, as of the time of filing this report, no official statements on the matter have been released by the Katsina State government or security operatives.