A local group, the Gobir Development Association, has raised alarm over the staggering financial toll that insecurity has taken on their community, revealing that residents have paid over N160 billion in levies and ransom to bandits.
This disturbing revelation highlights the ongoing struggle against banditry in Sokoto State, particularly in Sabon Birni Local Government Area.
According to The PUNCH, the group, composed of professionals within the local government, shared these details in a statement signed by the association’s chairman, Idris Alhassan Gatawa, and its secretary, Professor Aliyu Gobir, was released to the media on Saturday.
The statement noted that the community has also lost more than two billion naira directly to armed banditry.
The Gobir Development Association issued the statement in response to the recent killing of Muhammad Bawa, the District Head, who was abducted and later killed by bandits on the Sabon Birni–Sokoto Road after attending an official engagement in the state capital.
The group condemned the escalating violence and insecurity that have plagued the area.
The association’s statement outlined the heavy financial burden placed on the community by banditry, stating, “Over sixty billion naira has been paid as ransom, over a hundred billion naira paid as imposed levies by the bandits, and more than two billion naira lost to armed bandits.”
In addition to the financial impact, the group noted the severe loss of livestock and the disruption of agricultural activities, adding, “Likewise, about six hundred thousand heads of cattle and five million sheep and goats were rustled within the last five years.”
The situation has also led to significant agricultural setbacks, with the group reporting that “about two-thirds of the arable farmlands are inaccessible due to the fear of being killed or kidnapped by bandits, causing severe economic losses, hardship in terms of food and nutrition security, and psychological and social imbalances.”
The group has called on the government at all levels to take immediate and decisive action to end the violence, halt the kidnappings, and restore peace to the troubled region.
It urged the authorities to address the displacement of people and the widespread rustling of livestock to ensure stability and security for all affected communities.
