Bandits impose N10m levies on Birnin Gwari communities

Armed bandits have imposed levies on farming Communities in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna.

This was contained in a congratulatory letter issued by the chairman of Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU), Ishaq Usman Kasai to President Bola Tinubu and made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday.

The statement read, “Just this week, the bandits imposed N10 million levies on three farming communities, namely; Sabon-Layi, Tashar Keji and Ruwan Rana where they give these Communities grace of three days, which expires Tuesday 30/5/2023.”

The chairman noted that, “to meet up this demand or be attacked. These have become the orders of the day. In fact, just three days ago, Birnin-Gwari capital was stormed by the bandits where people were abducted including teenage girls.

“Some school children in the Eastern part of Birnin-Gwari who were abducted on their way to schools are still in captivity for over a hundred days now. However, we hope this administration can take decisive action to address this problem.

“The insecurity situation in our area is a serious cause for concern, where Birnin-Gwari people are being kidnapped and killed by bandits daily. The economy of Birnin-Gwari which relies majorly on farming has been seriously crippled. Today, people could no longer access their farmlands due to insecurity. Most basic schools were closed and transportation halted affecting trading.

“Farming Communities are being sacked by bandits almost everyday and people majorly women and children are becoming internally displaced on a daily basis. Even today as I am writing this congratulatory message, the Community is on the other hand at grief because even on last Sunday night, Dadin Kowa village has been attacked and sacked by bandits on motorcycles wielding different kinds of riffles.

“In another sad development, yesterday (Sunday) 28/5/2023, been a day to your inauguration, large number of people including women and children were kidnapped on the road along Dogon Hawa, just about two kilometers away from the Birnin-Gwari main town.

“As the President of Nigeria, His Excellency have the power to ensure that the people of Birnin-Gwari live their lives in peace and security where they can freely continue to exploit economic and educational potentials without fear of attacks by these terrorists.

“We hereby urge Mr. President to prioritise on security of the people and take immediate steps to address the situation. This may involve deploying additional security personnel to the area and implementing a functional community policing strategy among others.

“It is our hope that, under His Excellency’s leadership, the situation in Birnin-Gwari will be resolved and the people of the community can live their lives without fear of violence.”