Yesterday night, several villages under Mada town in Gusau LGA of Zamfara State were attacked after residents failed to meet extortion demands imposed by armed bandits.
The Bandits carried out coordinated raids, forcing entire communities into panic and displacement.Residents say extortion has become routine. Farmers are demanded to pay before planting and again before harvesting.
This year’s poor yields worsened by fertilizer shortages have made it impossible for many to raise the millions of naira now being demanded.
The inability to pay is what triggered the attacks.Homes were set on fire, livelihoods destroyed and families forced to flee. Communities across both the eastern and northern corridors of Mada are now living in fear.
This is not just insecurity, it is systematic exploitation of unprotected rural populations, where governance and security presence remain critically absent.How long will rural communities continue to pay the price of neglect?
@daudalawal_ @BBCAfrica @ReutersAfrica @___Bils @AM_Saleeeem @_hafsat_paki @MFaarees_ @FaridaAshu @AbuBakr_MaShI @flexiblenancy
