Farmers in communities within Giwa Local Government area of Kaduna State, represented by the Kaya Descendants Community Development Association, have lodged a complaint with the local government chairman regarding the alarming incidence of banditry plaguing their region.
The petition, dated 28th May, 2024, and endorsed by the association’s chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe Musa, details the relentless onslaught endured by villagers at the hands of bandits.
Notably, farmers have been subjected to coercive levies demanded by the bandits before they are permitted to engage in farming activities during this season.
Expressing their grievance, the association seeks an audience with the local government chairman to apprise him of the dire situation faced by the affected communities.
The correspondence, disseminated to journalists in Zaria on Monday, underscores the urgent need for intervention to address the protracted insecurity challenges plaguing the region.
The letter party read, “The issues of farming in Kaya and surroundings is seriously facing great challenges and obstacles, where certain conditions have been given by the bandits for every farmer to meet to be allowed to farm.
“Every farmer has to pay tax to the bandits before farming and by the middle of farming season, the farmers are being chased away from their farmlands or even harassed and kidnapped even after paying the tax.”
The group further complained that the situation was the same during harvest season where bandits burn the yielded crops without remorse.
“Our families are facing dangerous distractions in the course of daily activities in the area, our children are not going to schools for fear of being kidnapped.
“It’s in view of the foregoing, we crave the indulgence of the Chairman of Giwa Local Government and other top officials at the state and national levels to institute investigation in order to bring to an end the incessant harassment and attacks on our community,” the letter added.