Fear has returned to Yargoje and surrounding villages in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, and this time it comes with a price tag of ₦50 million.
Residents woke up to a chilling message from notorious bandit kingpin Mustapha Babaro on Friday. Pay up within the deadline, or face the consequences. No one is pretending they don’t know what those consequences look like.
What makes the threat sting harder is the bitter irony. Kankara LGA just hosted two highly publicized peace parleys with bandit leaders in less than three months. Government officials shook hands, pictures were taken, assurances were given.
Yet here we are again.
Villagers whisper that the same commanders who sat across negotiation tables are the ones now sending voice notes and letters demanding millions. Some say the “peace agreements” were never more than temporary tax-farming arrangements dressed up as dialogue.
One resident who spoke on condition of anonymity told our correspondent, “They collected ransom in the name of peace, now they’re collecting levy in the name of protection. What exactly changed?”
As the deadline approaches, families are selling cattle, borrowing from relatives, and pooling whatever little they have. Those who can’t pay are already planning to flee.
The question on everyone’s lips is simple but painful: if peace talks cannot stop a single bandit from extorting communities he supposedly made peace with, what exactly are our leaders negotiating?
For now, Yargoje waits. Between the fear of guns and the weight of an impossible levy, hope feels like the most expensive luxury of all.
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