The rainy season has allegedly brought threats from bandit leader Bello Turji to farmers in the Zamfara state area.
Turji reportedly stated that farmers can only return to their lands “peacefully” if they had paid the N50 million levy, as reported by security expert Bakatsine in an X post.
The people of Tsalaken Gulbi in Fakai village, Shinkafi LGA, Zamfara State, are supposedly impacted by this ransom. It reaches Qaya, which is close to the border of Niger.
It is practically customary for farmers in northern regions experiencing unrest to pay a form of protection levy to bandits both before planting and during harvest.
While it is true that some farmers do not perish even after paying the fee, other farmers have their harvest stolen or killed by robbers.