By Peter Duru, Makurdi
A farmer in Kastina-Ala Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State has been forced to abandon his farm after suspected bandits demanded N500,000 from him as a condition for accessing and harvesting his crops.
The farmer, whose identity was not disclosed, is a resident of Mbagena Council Ward in Kastina-Ala LGA, where suspected local bandits have allegedly been terrorising residents and imposing ransom demands on members of the community.
His son, a 300-level student of Benue State University, BSU, John James, disclosed this at the weekend while narrating his 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, SERAP, in Makurdi.
James said his father, who combines farming with public service, was attacked in his home about two weeks ago by suspected bandits who demanded a N500,000 ransom.
According to him, the attackers initially gave his father three days to raise the money, but later extended the deadline to one week after he explained that he could not immediately raise the amount because he had not harvested his farm produce.
He said his father had returned home to harvest his groundnut, beniseed, soyabean and other crops in order to generate income to meet the ransom demand.
James said, “About two weeks ago, terrorists invaded his compound in the night where he was sleeping alongside my mother after work. They charged him to pay a ransom of N500,000. My father pleaded with them because there was nothing at the moment. He had to plead with them for our lives because contacting the security will only worsen the situation.”
He explained that while his father was struggling to raise the money, the attackers returned to the house and abducted his mother, accusing the farmer of deliberately delaying payment.
James said his father was away attending a burial ceremony near Kastina-Ala town when the attackers arrived and took his mother away.
He, however, said his mother was later released after one of the abductors pleaded that she should be freed 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,” he said.
According to him, his father eventually rallied friends and relatives and raised N200,000, which he delivered to the bandits at midnight on Thursday.
James said the payment allowed his father to harvest only some of his crops, as the attackers insisted that he must pay the balance of N300,000 before he could return to the farm and harvest the remaining produce.
“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,” he said.
The student said the continued threats had forced his father to flee the area, leaving his crops at the mercy of the bandits.
“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,” James added.
He lamented that the suspected bandits were allegedly moving freely within the community, with some of them reportedly 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 said.
James said his father’s experience was not an isolated incident, explaining that residents had suffered repeated attacks, theft and other forms of intimidation, noting that 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 goods 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,” he said.
The BSU student also raised concerns over the reluctance of residents to report attacks to security agencies, alleging that villagers who had attempted to seek police intervention were subsequently targeted by the bandits.
“The villagers hardly report to police because those who attempted were killed by the bandits,” he alleged.
The SERAP workshop provided a platform for community members to share experiences of insecurity and learn how to demand accountability, seek justice and better understand their rights in relation to safety and security.
