Pay Levies Or No Harvest, Bandits Tell Zamfara Farmers
NOVEMBER 15, 2020 AT 12:56:08 AM

SHEHU UMAR, GUSAU
Armed bandits in Zamfara have levied farmers and expect them to pay before they would be allowed to harvest their farm produce, Daily Trust has gathered.

Farmers in the state have suffered series of assaults by the armed bandits, especially when they attempt to work on their farms.

In 2015, the armed bandits tagged “Noma Haram” wrote farmers in Dansadau district of Maru Local Government Area, warning them to stay away from farms or face dire consequences.

Dozens of farmers have been killed as hundreds of hectres of farmlands remain uncultivated. Most of the slain victims were trapped on their farmlands and got killed, Daily Trust on Sunday learnt.

A farmer in Anka Local Government Area identified as Sani Hamisu said his father was killed in his farm when he went there in March to clear the land in preparation for this year’s cropping season.

“I went to the farm with him and when it was noon, I decided to go back home and get some food for us. About an hour after I left, armed bandits struck and shot him dead.”

I was informed of the sad development and so I decided to stay away from the farm. We could not recover his body until a day later because when they killed him, they hovered around waiting for the next victim,” he added.

Another farmer, Ali Farin Ruwa, said armed men drove cows into his sorghum plantation and the whole crop was destroyed, adding that no one dared to raise a finger against the invading criminals.

“Someone told me that he saw cows grazing on my farmlands, I rushed to the farm to see what was happening. As I approached the field, I was advised to stay away because the attackers were ready to take life at the slightest provocation,” he added.

Now that some farmers and their farmlands have survived the bandits’ onslaught, heavy levies are being imposed on the farmers before they can harvest their crops.

Residents of Anka Local Government Area narrated how the gunmen keep slamming levies on them either to avoid attack or be allowed to harvest farm produce.

“I still can’t go to the farm to harvest my maize. I don’t even know whether the crop is there because I have not gone there for a long time to avoid being killed or kidnapped,” Aliyu Sani said.

“I have a sorghum farm on the fringes of Burwaye forest. They sent a message to our community that N2m each must be paid by those of us who own farms in the area before we will be allowed to harvest. We’ve abandoned the farms for them,” he added.

In Kawaye district of Anka Local Government Area of the state, dozens of hectares of farmlands remain uncultivated as farmers have abandoned them for fear of being killed or kidnapped.

“From Duza to Dawan jiya, Duhuwa and communities Gobirawa, uncultivated lands are a common sight. At the beginning of the rainy season in April and May this year, many farmers were either kidnapped or killed mostly while working on the farms.

“This has instilled fear in the farmers and we decided to abandon the lands. These criminals are every where. The moment you go at least five kilometres away from your community, you would see them. I fear serious shortage of food unless something is done to address the problem,” a farmer Yunusa Muhammad said.

In Dansadau, a district with very fertile land for crop farming, the story is the same. The armed criminals have slammed levies on many farming communities as a precondition for them to attend to their farms. Most of the residents of these communities, our correspondent learnt, have fled.

“Some of these farmers have migrated to cities and towns. The youth have taken to commercial motorbike riding in big cities across the country. For many years now, this is how we’ve been living,” a farmer Ali Kabir lamented.

A lull in the Zamfara State initiated a peace deal prompted the military to begin massive operation against recalcitrant armed bandits and cattle rustlers.

I hope the govt will take proper actions now bcoz their fear is seeing Nigeria divide

Like play like play this thing no be play ooo

We are witnessing the most
incompetent, irresponsible, heartless
& ignorant government in the history of this
country.

Every important position has been
filled with people who have nothing
to offer.


Fulani are attacking, killing & abducting
people in the villages, on highways, & in
towns & this government has no idea
on what to do.


With all these deadly criminals on rampage
all this useless govt could do was to
send vicious policemen in the name of
SARS to be harassing petty, crimes like the
so-called Yahoo boys.

BhoomiMivics:
I hope the govt will take proper actions now bcoz their fear is seeing Nigeria divide

Which govt?

Diswan tire me. They government o their own

It is a pity there is no government in this country. Had it been that this country have a live president, this wouldn't be happening. Apc is a curse to this country and to the world. Our leaders are bandits.

Hard times we're in


And we don't even have a president.

Their darling daddy is working, the fraud said he'll lead the fight against Boko Haram from the front but how many times has he been to see the troops that are fighting the insurgents?

These people belong to the stone age.
Havoc and destroying everything they come across is their hobby.

The bandits are getting stronger,
more brazen & daring because the
government of Zamfara goes about
begging them.

So it has gotten to this and northern political elite and its traditional aristocracy are only bothered about #ENDSARS and retention of power in the north? OK o.

Separate the North from the South and we'll have some level of sanity around here

I have written severally that the fulani terrorists are being sponsored to specifically target farmers towards ushering a famine.

Buhari is a bastard .

He has shown clearly that he wants a famine in the land with his deliberatly hunger policies.
.

His refusal to address his fulani militia pales in comparison to his deliberate hunger policies from border closures to ban on food imports to even ban on fertilizers .


This man is bent on fulfilling his Jewish communist masters agenda of killing of his own citizens via hunger.

BhoomiMivics:
I hope the govt will take proper actions now bcoz their fear is seeing Nigeria divide

Government? What government?

Imagine nonesense
Farmers should go to harvest with their hunter brothers with dane guns and bear traps to lay siege to the idiot bandits...

Buhari,muric and femi Adesina wont say a word abt dis ooooooo

Zombies over to u.....

and no northern leader care to resist this?

Since Buharis govt has slept over its
duty of protecting her citizens,
Its better for these Fulani to establish
toll gates on the highways & be collecting
N1000 from each passenger, so that
they stop kidnapping.

NO PITY FOR THE HAUSA'S, THEY ARE ENJOYING THE SLAVERY BEEN METTED TO THEM BY THE FULANI'S. THE WORST IS THAT THE HAUSSA'S CARRY ISLAM FOR HEAD PASS THE FULANI WEY DE SMOKE AND BOOZE ANY HOW

Terrible situation.
Without the ethnic, religious and geographical bias Extortion takes place in Nigeria everyday and everywhere
In Lagos for instance you can not build your house without paying money to Omo onile, Omo adugbo, awon boys etc... And such instances all over the nation so it's not a peculiar situation as have been tainted by the op as "Fulani" bandits.
In most cases these extortionists are known to the people being extorted and infact 60 percent of the time the village heads/ authorities politicians are in the know. And have interests in the racket.
That's the issue on ground.
The extortionists are dreaded youths of the communities they know you, you know them, they know your family...the vulnerability of victims are unending thus the non cooperation with security agents.
Remember sometime in 2017, the air force strike that was said to havd killed so called innocent civilians, that was part of the operation that acted based on intelligence not opinion.
So the village heads, the politicians and all cried foul in a bid to shield their interests and consolidate their vulnerability to the criminal extortionists.

The most effective way to douse or clip any security issue especially bordering on territorial integrity, should be left solely on constitutional accountability to perform their duties, also Important is for the security forces to shun the gallery, and avoid the opinions of politicians.
And also most importantly is the need for citizens to avoid biases of religion, region and ethnicities as we have a common enemy.

Up Nigeria.

At this rate, Local rice go reach 50k/bag
next year & Buhari & cru don't give
a damn.

Only a revolution to remove this
incompetent APC can save this
country.

We are already paying, with the
current unusually high cost of foodstuff
at this harvest time.

Nawa oh

No wonder food is so expensive these days But the government is saying we are hungry because we don't farm. We are in trouble

Nigerian govt will not act now ...rather they will wait till the harvest day or when the farmers have been kidnapped before knowing what to do!

what do you expert dama?