Helpless Farmers Said to Be Forced into Modern Day Serfdom
By Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James
(Kaduna) –Terrorist insurgent allied with bandit gangs have captured and are enslaving agrarian communities around Shiroro Lake, and into adjacent lands in Kaduna State, local leaders have announced.
According to TruthNigeria sources, the region of the Rijana river 30 miles south of Kaduna City has been a bandit staging area for years. The area was the site of a spectacular train derailing in March of 2022. The Nigerian Air Force claims to have killed 30 terrorists there in 2022.
All the areas mentioned belong to Gbagyi tribe Christians, although there is a Muslim minority.
An emergency media conference Thursday, Sept. 5, in Minna, the Niger State capital, by Coalition of Shiroro Associations, drawn from nine affected communities in the terrorist-controlled enclave and made available to Truth Nigeria in Kaduna
Shiroro County (Local Governance Area) in Niger state, central Nigeria, occupies 1,936 sq miles of pristine woodlands and hills with the turquoise blue water of its 92 square miles Shiroro lake as its most iconic landmark.
But a good number of Shiroro’s 450,000 natives, largely famers, are not happy people, according to interviews granted to TruthNigeria.
Chairman of the coalition, Abdullah Suleiman Erena said that violent attacks in the nine political wards of the Lakpma area in Shiroro has been carried out by armed groups seeking to take over the government in Abuja, as well as by allied bandit gangs.
“Terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP (Islamic State in West Africa Province) and Ansaru have formed a collaboration in Shiroro area,” he said.
“These evil groups are carving a large terrorist base in the Lakpma axis, which could become increasingly difficult to contain if not addressed urgently,” he added.
According to him, the situation could lead to what he termed as a “terrorist ecosystem”.
“Government must not look at this as mere criminality because it is more severe than that,” he said.
“They are forcing farmers to farm various crops for them and tend to their rustled cattle for free. In fact, they even make them go to markets to sell the produce on market days and return with the proceeds or their families lives will be endangered,” he said.
“Shiroro is not far from Abuja (Nigeria Capital City) and if these terrorists are not checked and wiped out, Abuja is not safe in the future, ”Erena said.
Saidu Salihu, Secretary of the coalition said that the withdrawal of soldiers from a Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Allawa, village, Shiroro county, three months ago compromised the security of the place and adjoining communities.
“Terrorists in Allawa and surrounding areas in Shiroro Local Government Area (county) have taken over the communities and enslaving those that are still there since the withdrawal of soldiers from Allawa three months ago,” Salihu said.
“We are asking both the Federal Government and the Nigeria State government to equip our vigilante (volunteer civilian guards) so that we can join forces with the military and other security bodies and flush out the terrorists. We can do it!” he said.
According to him, hundreds of families have lost their homes and thousands displaced to beggarly conditions in various parts of the county. 1) The group is made up mainly of Gbagyi ethnic groups indigenous to Shiroro…. though it’s largely a Christian dominated area, some of the Gbagyi that converted to Islam, seem to be in the leadership of the coalition. But Christian are the majority, however, not very outspoken.
The targeted population are mostly farmers and traders with a few teachers, according to local interviews. The group is not aligned to any political party as a group.
The attacking bandits and terrorists attack Christians more often than Muslims. Many churches have been burned and several Christian Clergy kidnapped.
“Government should send assistance to them and help them to their feet before they are returned to their homes in the future,” Salihu pleaded.
“I am saying this because it is the bandits that are reaching out to us to negotiate on the terms that those who fled can return to their communities and that’s what we can never do,” he added.
He blamed the government for being unresponsive and insensitive, enabling bandit-terrorists to become the recognized owners and rulers of their communities.
Sani Abubakar Yusuf Kokki, a member of the coalition, on his part, acknowledged that there may be terrorists informants among affected communities, but noted that it was not an excuse for the government to abandon them.
“The state government needs to do more than just lament and apportion blame,” Kokki said. “While we acknowledge that informants may be collaborating with terrorists and bandits, this should not justify abandoning the larger population to their fate.”
The President of Lakpma Youth Forum, Babangida Kudodo, part of the coalition, lampooned the Niger State government for not taking proactive measures to tackle the insecurity ravaging Shiroro county after the coalition had released vital and important information on the activities of the terrorists.
He claimed that some bandit informants were arrested and later released, making them security threats to the communities that reported them.
“This may have forced many residents to collaborate with the terrorists and bandits to secure their livelihoods,” he said.
Bandits in Shiroro county attained global notoriety when on August 14, 2023, they gunned down a military helicopter killing all 13 soldiers and crew.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
