ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Suspected bandits in Kastina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State have demanded N500,000 from a farmer before allowing him to return to his farm to harvest his crops, forcing him to flee the community.
The farmer, a resident of Mbagena Council Ward in Kastina-Ala LGA, was reportedly attacked in his home by the suspected bandits, who initially demanded the money as ransom.
According to reports that his son, John James, a 300-level student of Benue State University, disclosed this at the weekend while narrating the family’s ordeal at a capacity-building workshop on Promoting Safety and Security Rights, Accountability and Access to Justice organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project in Makurdi.
According to James, the farmer, who combines farming with public service, was attacked in his home about two weeks ago by the suspected bandits, who demanded N500,000 and gave him three days to raise the money.
He said the deadline was later extended to one week after his father explained that he could not immediately raise the ransom because he had yet to harvest his crops.
James said his father had returned to the farm to harvest his groundnut, beniseed, soybean and other crops to raise money to meet the demand.
He said the situation, however, took a more dangerous turn when the suspected bandits returned to the family home and abducted his mother, accusing his father of deliberately delaying payment.
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James said his father was away attending a burial ceremony near Kastina-Ala town when the attackers arrived and took his mother away.
The woman was later released after one of the abductors reportedly pleaded with the others to let her go because she was crying and visibly distressed.
“She was freed but not without being tortured. As I talk to you now, my mother is suffering emotionally and physically from the pains she suffered in the course of the torture,” James said.
He said his father later rallied friends and relatives and raised N200,000, which he delivered to the bandits at midnight on Thursday.
The payment, however, did not secure his father’s full access to the farm, as the bandits allegedly insisted that he must pay the remaining N300,000 before returning to harvest the rest of his crops.
“When my father returned and handed them the money, they said it was not enough, that he had to complete it to N500,000 before he would be allowed to harvest anything from his farm,” James said.
He said the continued threats had forced his father to flee the area, leaving his crops behind.
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“They are still threatening my father for the remaining amount, and he is on the run for fear of the unknown. He can’t go back to harvest everything now until he gets all the money,” he added.
James alleged that the suspected bandits continued to move freely within the community, adding that some of them were known to residents.
“These people are moving freely in our vicinity, and they are local bandits. In fact, some of them are known to the villagers because they are from the same community,” he alleged.
The student said his father’s experience was not an isolated case, explaining that residents had suffered repeated attacks, theft and intimidation.
He said although it was the first time his father had been forced to pay ransom specifically to access his farm, he had previously been attacked, during which his money and other belongings were reportedly taken away.
“Other villagers suffer a similar fate regularly. However, it’s the first time my father has been charged a ransom for harvest. But he had been attacked several times where his money and goods were carted away,” James said.
He also expressed concern over the reluctance of residents to report attacks to security agencies, alleging that villagers who attempted to seek police intervention were subsequently targeted by the suspected bandits.
“The villagers hardly report to police because those who attempted were killed by the bandits,” he alleged.