Residents of 11 communities in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State said they have raised more than N30 million as a settlement to taxes imposed by militants.
The towns where the tax was levied include Unguwan Fari, Unguwan Makera, Unguwan Badewa, Unguwan Dan-Fulani, Sadauki, and other communities where they said they have no choice but to give the imposed levies to survive the militant attacks, as one community member told reporters.
Before collecting these millions of arbitration fees, some communities in the Birnin Gwari area had to pay millions to the militants to be able to secure their farms. While another resident said despite the payment one’s safety is not guaranteed. People interviewed by newsmen in the area asked not to be named for security reasons.
Attempts to contact the Kaduna State Commissioner for Security, Mallam Samuel Aruwan, were unsuccessful as he said they were at a security meeting.
But one of the commentators on current affairs, Barrister El-zubair Abubakar said the situation is a threat to the economy of the communities and the country as a whole.
The Birnin Gwari area has been a focal center of militant attacks as Zangon Kataf in the southern part of the state. Just on Sunday, 11 people were confirmed dead at Zangon Kataf.
This story was first published on VOA Hausa
