Bandits are putting pressure on villagers in Kaduna, forcing them to part with substantial sums before they can even think about harvesting their hard-earned crops.
According to reports, this situation has left the affected communities trapped in a cycle of fear and economic uncertainty, with their livelihoods and safety hanging in the balance.
This plight isnt limited to just one village; its a shared struggle for residents of Kidandan and Galadima villages. For those in Angular Falau and Kerawa villages, life on the farm has become a constant ordeal, marked by harassment and the ever-present threat of kidnapping.
A resident of Kidandan village, Jamil Kidandan, while sharing the grim details of their daily reality, said the burden placed upon the local farmers is staggering, with individuals having to cough up anywhere from N70, 000 to N100, 000 just for the privilege of harvesting their own produce.
According to him, Its not merely a financial burden; its a matter of life and death. Those who dare to resist these extortionate levies face dire consequences, including kidnapping, violence, or the confiscation of their hard-earned farm yields by the ruthless bandits.
Adding to the grim picture, another resident in the area, who chose to remain anonymous, provided a list of the notorious bandit leaders causing terror in the region. These warlords include Buhari, his deputy Ganai, and the third-in-command, known as Kwalameri.
In a similar vein, a community leader named Jafar Anaba, who had been displaced from Unguwan Salahu, near Kerawa village, issued a warning about the potential scarcity of food crops in the State if the situation is not addressed urgently. He lamented that many farmers had abandoned their fields due to the prevailing threat of banditry.
Meanwhile, a group of bandits staged an invasion of Unguwan Algaita village, in the Randagi Ward of Birnin-Gwari local government area in Kaduna on Tuesday night. During the attack, they abducted 12 residents, including women and adults, leaving their families in agonizing uncertainty about the well-being of the victims.
Local residents made a grim discovery on Wednesday evening, when they found two lifeless bodies in a nearby bush among those who had been kidnapped by the bandits.
A youth leader in the area, Shehu Randagi, confirmed that these individuals had likely been killed for resisting the bandits demands, and a third person was found alive but with a gunshot wound. The injured individual was promptly transported to Birnin-Gwari Hospital for urgent medical attention. He made a heartfelt plea to both the state and Federal Governments to come to their aid in this dire situation.
Regrettably, there has been no official response from the state Police Command regarding this distressing situation. Efforts to contact the State Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansur Hassan, have proved abortive as of the time of filing this report.
