As border closures between Nigeria and coup-torn Niger Republic worsen food crisis, Nigerian soldiers and members of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) stationed at Malamfatori, a Borno town bordering Bosso in Niger are lamenting acute shortage of food, including other items.
“There hasn’t been any food supply to us since the last one we received from Maiduguri over a week ago,” one of the soldiers told Daily Trust. “Now, Nigeriens soldiers have completely prevented us from crossing to buy food in Bosso.”
“Before the last ECOWAS meeting, we had an understanding that two soldiers or CJTF would drop their guns, wear mufti and cross to Bosso to buy food items. But now, it is a total shutdown.
“Even the man who was supplying food to us before this coup said they couldn’t get supply through the Cotonou border despite high demand and shortage of the food items in the country,” he added.
RESIDENTS IN BORDER TOWNS LAMENT HIKE IN FOOD PRICES
“There’s scarcity of perishable items in our community because of the border closure,” a resident in Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State said, adding the price of rice has risen from N30,000 to N50,000.
“Prices of other food items also skyrocketed. For instance, a bag of millet is over N60,000,” he said.
The residents of Jibia in Katsina State, under the aegis of the Jibia Peoples Forum,
In a letter addressed to the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, the resident of Jibia in Katsina State, under the aegis of the Jibia Peoples Forum, accused security officers of charging exorbitant amounts on trucks conveying food items.
“On behalf of the people, traders, merchants and neighbours, we hereby forward our grievance against Nigeria Customs and other security agencies operating along the Katsina-Jibia highway concerning their attitude towards free-flow of essential commodities into Jibia Local Government.
“The items include floor, cement, agricultural products, both perishable and non-perishable, house furniture, building materials, all made in Nigeria, are not allowed to pass freely into Jibia market without clearance from the Nigeria Customs house upon payment of exorbitant charges, ranging from N70,000 to N120,000 per truck without an official receipt,” the letter signed by Bashir Lawal Jibia, the forum’s secretary, partly read.
Niger Coup: African Workers Call for Restraint Amid Military Threat by ECOWAS
Also, residents at the border communities of Dikorari, Jaramidi, Kaska, Tulo-tulowa Dumar, Gidigir, Mallawa, Ngamdu and Funai decried a shortage of food and the high cost of items.
Mallam Sile Mella, a resident of Dikorari, said: “Most of us combining business with farming have lost hope this season. We sold our livestock and reinvested in our farms. Now, we’ve lost everything and we don’t have food to eat.”
A resident of Jarimidi village, a border town in Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State, Audu Mai Aazara, lamented, “We are in serious food shortage, and our morale to the farm was dampened by the dry spell we are witnessing.
“Now, many of us that have farmlands in Niger had to abandon them because Nigerien soldiers don’t allow us into their country,” he said.
After the junta ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed a series of sanctions, including military intervention, which was widely condemned.
