Terrorists In Tsafe, Zamfara Force Villagers to Hand Over Millions Before Harvesting Their Own Farms

In Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, residents say armed bandits have created a ruthless extortion system: farmers must pay huge sums before they’re allowed to harvest their own crops or risk deadly consequences.

Villagers report that these criminal groups demand between ₦5 million and ₦20 million merely to grant them access to their farmland. The “harvest tax” is now part of a growing web of extortion affecting communities throughout Tsafe.

Yet paying doesn’t bring safety. Locals say the same attackers often herd cattle through the farmlands after the payments are made, destroying crops, ruining harvests, and plunging families into deeper hardship.

The fear is constant. A Tsafe farmer told The Guardian that the bandits issue strict instructions including when people may visit their farms, how much they must pay, and even taking a share of their grains as tribute.

These demands tie into a broader network of levies imposed by the gunmen. Under the leadership of bandit commanders like Danisuhu, 25 villages in Tsafe West have reportedly been forced to pay a combined ₦172.7 million.

The consequences of refusing are severe. According to multiple reports, villagers who can’t meet the demands face violent retaliation, forcing many to abandon their communities entirely.

Security analysts say these levies have become a more reliable source of income for the bandits than kidnapping  deepening the economic and social collapse in rural Zamfara. Families are losing their livelihoods, crops are being wiped out, and local communities are trapped under a shadow authority that charges them simply to survive.

Many residents are now urgently calling on government authorities to intervene  not only to restore security, but to protect their basic right to farm and feed their families.