A farmer in Kastina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State has abandoned his farm after suspected bandits demanded N500,000 from him before he could access and harvest his crops.
The farmer, whose identity has not been disclosed, lives in Mbagena Council Ward in Kastina-Ala LGA, where local bandits have reportedly been terrorising residents and imposing ransom demands on the community.
His son, John James, a 300-level student of Benue State University, disclosed this at the weekend while narrating his family’s ordeal at a capacity-building workshop on safety, security and accountability organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Makurdi.
James said his father, who combines farming with public service, was attacked at home about two weeks ago by suspected bandits who demanded a N500,000 ransom. The attackers initially gave him three days to raise the money but later extended the deadline to a week after he explained he hadn’t yet harvested his produce.
He said his father had gone back to harvest his groundnut, beniseed, soyabean and other crops in order to raise money for the ransom.
“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 security will only worsen the situation,” James said.
He explained that while his father struggled to raise the money, the attackers returned and abducted his mother, accusing the farmer of deliberately delaying payment. His father was away attending a burial ceremony near Kastina-Ala town when the attackers came and took his mother.
She was later released after one of the abductors pleaded for her freedom, saying 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,” James said.
He added that his father eventually rallied friends and relatives and raised N200,000, which he delivered to the bandits at midnight on Thursday. The payment allowed him to harvest only part of his crops, as the attackers insisted he pay the remaining N300,000 before returning to harvest the rest.
“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,” James said.
He said the continued threats have 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 alleged that the suspected bandits move freely within the community, with some 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 ordeal was not isolated, noting that residents in the area have suffered repeated attacks, theft and intimidation. Though it was the first time his father had been charged a ransom for harvest access, he had previously been attacked and robbed of money and goods.
“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.
James also raised concerns over residents’ reluctance to report attacks to security agencies, alleging that villagers who had tried 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 gave community members a platform to share experiences of insecurity and learn how to demand accountability and seek justice on safety and security rights.
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