Bandits burn farmers’ crops over failure to pay imposed levies

By ABDULYASSAR ABDULHAMID

Bandits in Zamfara State are adapting another ruthless measure to force villagers pay imposed levy meant to allow faming activities.

Residents in the affected communities told Daily Trust that bandits now burn unharvested crops on farmlands over the failure to pay imposed “harvest levies”.

Some residents in Magami, a community located just 50km south of Gusau, the state capital, told our correspondent that a maize plantation belonging to one Alhaji Dankoli was burnt by the criminals.

“They have asked residents in several communities in the district to pay levies and warned of possible consequences for not doing so. They have instituted themselves as lords here. We are completely under siege,” a resident identified as Aliyu said.

In Kanoma Birni, a community in the Maru Local Government Area of the state, the bandits imposed an N8 million levy.

“The residents are calculating to see if it is worth paying because they know very well that the imposed levies will not be waived completely.”

“They will see if they can pay something out of it for them to harvest their crops,” a source said.

Daily Trust reports that despite the disruption of telecommunications services in Zamfara State, bandits are still attacking communities, kidnapping people slamming “harvest levies”. (Daily Trust)