Farmers in Kontagora, Niger State, have been left in shock and fear after suspected bandits set fire to their crops and demanded N30m levy from each of them.
The incident happened on the outskirts of Kontagora, the headquarters of Kontagora Local Government Area, where over 20 farms of maize, soya bean and guinea corn were burnt down.
One of the affected farmers, who spoke to City & Crime on condition of anonymity, said he found a note in Arabic with a phone number on his farm, asking him to pay the levy or face more attacks.
He said he did not call the number, but those who did were told by the bandits that they were responsible for the arson and that they would not spare them if they failed to pay.
He said he had lost his crops that were due for harvest and appealed to the federal and state governments to intervene and stop the incessant attacks on farmers.
He said, “We just woke up today to this sad incident. We went to our farms where we had gathered our crops that were ready for harvest. We were almost done with the gathering before bringing them home, only for the crops to be burnt to ashes.
“And notices in Arabic with a phone number were placed in our respective farms asking us to pay N30m levy each.
“Of the farms that were burnt down, there is one where you could not get less than 50 bags of maize if harvested. There was another one of soybean.
“The owner would not get less than 60 bags if harvested. In my own farm, there were guinea corn and beans that I had gathered for processing before bringing them home. All of them were burnt to the ground.”
Some residents of Kontagora told our correspondent that the incident had created tension, saying that people were afraid of going to their farms.
Security operatives have not responded to the incident.
