*As Reps Member Confirms He Can’t Enter His Community
A community leader in Kaduna State, Aziz AbdulRauf, has disclosed how farmers in a community in Kaduna State have been compelled to pay a sum of N200m to bandits before they could harvest their farm produce.
This was just as a member of the House of Representatives, Shehu Abubakar, representing Birni-Gwari, Kaduna Central Federal Constituency, also painted a gloomy picture of the insecurity that pervade in parts of kaduna State.
The member of the House of Representatives disclosed that the Ansaru group which hitherto was believed to be protecting the people against the activities of bandits have themselves become terror onto the communities.
The community leader, who was also a former Chief Executive Officer of the Kaduna Media Corporation, while speaking on a Channels TV Sunrise programme on Wednesday, said the situation has become so bad that the people must defend themselves.
While accusing the federal government of not doing enough to protect the people, the community leader, who was General Manager of Kaduna media agency, said until the people of the community become bold enough to confront the bandits, they were paying as much as N200m before the farmers could be allowed to go to their farms at harvest time.
He said farmers pay bandits both at planting and harvest seasons adding that the bandits now dictate what happens with no police presence at all.
“You have to pay to the bandits before you go to your farm. They will now tell you, they will tell you that you have to give them 2 to 10 bags of grains. We are in a state of hopelessness and frustration.
When people get to this stage, they protect themselves if the government cannot protect them.”
The member House of Representatives for Birni Gwari, Kaduna Central said it has been difficult to access his constituency adding that electoral activities
“It has been difficult for us to campaign. The roads have been hijacked by the bandits in Birni Gwari. All these while, they were living with the community peacefully. The bandits were even afraid of the Ansaru,” The lawmaker lamented
He said many times, the Ansaru forces dressed in military uniform and they now control the communities including the political affairs.