Bandits invade Kaduna community, kill nine farmers, abduct several others

At least nine farmers have been killed and several other residents abducted after suspected bandits attacked a farming community in Kaduna State.

According to a security report obtained by AFP on Sunday and a local source, the attackers stormed the village, killing the farmers before taking an unspecified number of people away.

The latest attack comes as insecurity continues to worsen across parts of northern and central Nigeria following the start of the annual rainy season.

During this period, armed groups often increase attacks on farming communities, demanding illegal levies from residents. Villages that refuse to pay are frequently targeted.

In many parts of the region, criminal gangs, commonly known as bandits, are involved in kidnapping people for ransom, cattle rustling and violent attacks on rural communities.

Kaduna remains one of the states most affected by the activities of these armed groups.

The attackers regularly invade villages, kill and abduct residents, loot homes and set properties on fire, leaving many communities displaced and living in fear.

A security report prepared for the United Nations and seen by AFP on Sunday said the attackers on Saturday swept into the farmlands outside Kakangi village in Birnin Gwari district and shot farmers as they worked on their fields.

“Nine bodies have been recovered so far, with six of the victims identified by local authorities,” the report said.

Kabiru Ishaq, a community leader in Birnin Gwari, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) away, who visited the village to offer condolences, said 10 people were killed.

He said the attack was revenge for the killing of a bandit by farmers in a failed robbery attempt earlier the same day, with the report citing the same motive.

The bandit’s accomplice “returned with reinforcements and launched a retaliatory assault”, the report said.

Attacks on farming communities in the agrarian Birnin Gwari district have continued despite a November 2024 peace agreement brokered by local authorities between them and bandits.

Last month, at least six farmers were killed and 20 kidnapped in an attack on Danauta village in the district, according to local sources

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