A farmer in Mbagena Council Ward, Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, has been forced to abandon part of his harvest after armed bandits demanded ₦500,000 before allowing him to gather his crops. The farmer’s son, a university student who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons in some accounts and was identified as John James in others, disclosed the family’s ordeal on the sidelines of a capacity-building workshop on promoting safety, security rights, accountability and access to justice organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Makurdi.
According to the account, suspected armed bandits invaded the family’s home at night about two weeks ago while the farmer and his wife were sleeping. The attackers demanded ₦500,000 and initially gave the farmer three days to raise the money, later extending the deadline to one week after he explained he could not produce the sum quickly because he had not yet harvested his groundnut, beniseed, soybean and other crops. Desperate, the farmer sought help from friends and relatives and managed to raise ₦200,000, which he delivered to the bandits at midnight last Thursday.
Before the payment was completed, however, the bandits abducted his mother after becoming suspicious about the delay. The farmer was away at a burial near Katsina-Ala town when the attackers came, took his mother and accused him of deliberately avoiding payment. One of the kidnappers later pleaded for the woman’s release after seeing her distressed and crying. She was freed but not before being tortured; she continues to suffer physically and emotionally from the abuse, the student said.
When the farmer returned and handed over the ₦200,000, the bandits rejected it and insisted the full ₦500,000 be paid before he could return to the farm. The ongoing threats have forced the farmer into hiding, leaving some crops unharvested. “They are still threatening my father over the remaining amount and he is on the run for fear of the unknown. He cannot go back to harvest everything now until he gets all the money. These people are moving freely around our vicinity and some of them are known to the villagers because they are from the same community,” the student said.
He added that other residents had suffered similar attacks and that his father had been targeted several times in the past, losing money and goods. This was the first time the farmer was being forced to pay a ransom before being allowed to harvest his produce. The family has not reported the matter to security agencies for fear of reprisals. Villagers rarely inform the police, the student alleged, because some who tried to do so were said to have been killed by the bandits.
The incident underscores growing insecurity in farming communities across Benue, a state widely recognised for its agricultural importance. When farmers cannot safely reach their farms or harvest crops without facing extortion, the consequences extend beyond individual families to food production, household income and food prices. The case also raises concerns about the ability of rural residents to seek protection when criminal groups threaten them, and puts another spotlight on the need for effective security around farming communities and stronger protection for rural residents.
