Residents of Bakale in the Kilgori district of Yabo Local Government Area, Sokoto State, are facing renewed fear after an armed gang issued a demand for a N20 million payment to avert fresh attacks.
The ultimatum has sparked anxiety across several rural settlements already grappling with rising insecurity.
The threat surfaced after an audio message circulated among community members, in which the gang leader instructed the village head to assemble residents and announce the compulsory levy.
Furthermore, the recording captures the voice of the commander querying whether locals had agreed to comply, before directing that another meeting be called to convey the financial demand.
A villager familiar with the development explained that the gang justified the payment as a condition for safety.
“They insisted the money is the only guarantee for peace,” the resident said. “He claimed that as long as the community pays, no group will step foot here to attack or kidnap anyone.”
The bandit leader, in the audio, issued a stark warning, declaring that non-compliance would lead to deadly reprisals.
He threatened to unleash violence, including killings and abductions, if the community failed to gather the ransom.
Local leaders say Bakale is not the only settlement under pressure. A community elder, who declined to be identified for personal safety, explained that the gang had extended similar notices to multiple villages within the area.
He listed Bazar, Alkalije, Gari, Dagel, Adarawa, Kwaidaza, Kilgori Runji, Tudu, Tile, Kibiyare, and Barmadu as communities now living under the same ultimatum.
According to him, the demanded payments differ from village to village, ranging from N3 million to as high as N20 million, depending on the population.
He also revealed that recent attacks had claimed at least six lives in Alkalije and four more in Tile, further heightening fears in the region.
AFRIPOST reports that such levies have become a troubling tactic by armed groups exploiting rural communities already suffering from limited government presence.
The unfolding situation in Kilgori adds yet another layer to Nigeria’s escalating bandit crisis, a challenge that continues to expand in scope and complexity.