Villagers in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State say armed groups have now imposed heavy “harvest fees” on them, demanding payments before they are allowed to gather crops from their own farms.
The disturbing development was revealed on Tuesday by Bakatsine, a journalist who reports on insecurity across Nigeria’s northwest. In his post, he explained that the gangs (commonly referred to as bandits) are charging communities between N5 million and N20 million as a condition for accessing their farmlands.
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According to him, residents describe the situation as a new level of helplessness, one that goes beyond insecurity and signals a total breakdown of basic protection for rural dwellers.
He wrote that even after paying these outrageous levies, farmers are not guaranteed safety. Villagers claim the same armed men sometimes drive cattle into their farms, destroying what remains of their harvest. Speaking out, they say, could cost them their lives.
“People feel completely abandoned,” Bakatsine quoted one resident as saying. “They keep asking how this continues unchecked and where those responsible for their safety have gone.”
The situation in Tsafe, he noted, captures the growing despair across rural communities in the region—places where farming is now a dangerous gamble and survival depends on the whims of violent groups.
