DISTURBING reports that bandits are levying farming communities have again brought to the fore the imperative of addressing the banditry crisis. The menace has destabilised communities and exposed the lapses in governance, security, and social cohesion. Urgent and comprehensive action is required to address this multifaceted challenge.
Banditry in Nigeria evolved from isolated incidents to a widespread and coordinated criminal enterprise. Initially perceived as rural cattle rustling and petty theft, it has morphed into organised crime involving mass abductions, village raids, and extortion. States such as Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger have borne the brunt of these attacks, leading to the displacement of thousands, and a humanitarian crisis.
The bandits are extorting huge levies from farmers, destroying farms and barns, and denying farmers who cannot pay them farm access. This has compounded the food crisis in the country. President Bola Tinubu must prioritise tackling banditry and other criminal activities affecting food production.
A PUNCH report said Toro residents in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State are now selling their farm produce to raise the N20 million tax slammed on them by bandits. Each household there is to contribute N50,000.
In Zamfara, bandits impose taxes on farmers to gain access to their farmland. Farmers are required to pay sums ranging from N100,000 to N300,000 to cultivate their land or harvest crops. Failure to pay these taxes often results in massacres, the destruction of crops and attacks on villagers. In some cases, the bandits have established a system where farmers must pay a regular levy to avoid attacks. This levy is often collected during the planting and harvesting seasons, severely impacting the livelihood of farmers.
The same absurdity has been recorded in Katsina, where the bandits demand payments for ‘farming rights.’ These payments are enforced under the threat of violence, effectively turning farming activities into a high-risk endeavour. In Jibia and Batsari, bandits have reportedly set up checkpoints to extort money from farmers transporting their produce to markets. This not only disrupts agricultural productivity but also inflates the cost of goods.
In Kaduna – particularly in Birnin Gwari –, bandits impose protection fees on farmers. These fees are framed as payments for protection against other criminal groups, creating a perverse system where farmers are extorted by the very entities they need protection from. The bandits have been known to control local markets, imposing taxes on goods sold and purchased. This control extends to agricultural produce, where farmers are taxed for bringing their goods to the market.
The situation is not different in Niger State. Bandits demand payments from farmers during harvest. All this suggests the absence of a government or a weak one. Without addressing the security issues, food security cannot be guaranteed.
The human cost of banditry is devastating. Communities live in constant fear, with schools, markets, and farms becoming targets of attacks. This has led to significant disruptions in education, agriculture, and local economies, plunging impoverished regions into deeper hardship.
While the Federal Government has launched several military operations and amnesty programmes aimed at curbing banditry and Islamic militancy, the effectiveness of these initiatives has been limited. Military interventions often lack sustainability, and the amnesty programme has been criticised for rewarding criminals without addressing the root causes of banditry and insurgency.
But utilising drones, surveillance cameras, and satellite imagery for monitoring and early detection of bandit movements can have a significant impact.
Nigeria’s security structure should be devolved. Instead of a single police system, it should decentralise its police like the other 24 federal countries worldwide. This can counter the sheer number of bandits by putting more boots on the ground. A former Zamfara governor said there are 120,000 bandits in the North-West alone.
The government should prosecute and punish the bandits.