Farmers in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State say they have paid about 400 million Naira to bandits in the last three years to avoid being attacked.
A community leader from the emirate council, Zubairu Abdulra’uf, disclosed this on Kaduna State Media Corporation Radio.
He said that the persistent attacks in the area have affected economic activities, and prevented the people from travelling to the area.
Abdulra’uf said that the whole of Birnin-Gwari Local Government has paid between N300 to N400m to bandits, to enable the people to go to their farms.
According to him, the monies were paid to the bandits in three stages, pre-season, mid-season and during harvest, before the farmers can access their farms.
He further said that in addition to the money, a ratio of two to ten bags of produce is also given to the bandits.
He lamented that this is what the people of Birnin-Gwari have been grappling with in the last three years.
He said that when the people are frustrated, they will look for alternative ways to protect themselves if the government fails to do so.
