Bandits have abducted a woman and her two children in Kogi State and have imposed multi-million-naira levies on farming communities in Niger State as conditions for peace.
In Kogi State, bandits invaded the house of one Tokpe Gody at Bareke-Egbe in Yagba West Local Government Area around 2am on Friday, abducting his wife and two children after heavy gunfire. Gody, a farmer narrowly escaped being taken but sustained gunshot wounds in the process.
He is currently receiving treatment at Egbe hospital, where locals described his condition as critical.
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“Tokpe Gody escaped by whiskers from the invading bandits who struck his residence around 2am today Friday. But his wife and two of his children were not so lucky as the invading bandits forcibly carried them away to their hideout in the community.
“He received gun wound in his body and legs in the process of trying to escape from his assailants. His condition is not stable as at this morning. He is ordinary farmer that struggle to keep his family afloat in daring mounting challenges of today’s Nigeria,” said Samuel Adeyemi, a resident of Egbe.
The abduction came just a day after a commercial motorcyclist was killed at Ejiba, a neighbouring town, when he rode into a bandit ambush on his way to Isanlu.
Meanwhile, in Niger State, bandits have rolled out levies and taxes on several communities in Mashegu Local Government Area, demanding payments ranging from N500,000 to N10 million within one or two weeks as a condition for ceasefire.
Residents listed Babban Rami and Kaboji communities as each tasked to pay N2 million, Sabon Rijiya and Sabon Rami N500,000 each, while villages around Keji forest were ordered to jointly contribute N10 million. Khizi community was taxed N6 million with a deadline of Friday, October 3, 2025.
A resident told Weekend Trust that villagers are unable to harvest crops due to sustained attacks.
“There have series of killings and brutal attacks on the communities. And now, the bandits have imposed taxes on the villages surrounding the Ibbi and Kanji National Park forest.
“We are appealing to authorities act quickly to address this situation, because majority of the people in these areas are farmers and more than 90 percent of what we planted has not been harvested yet. The problem is beyond the local government. State and Federal governments need to come as quick as possible,” he said.
Another source noted that many farmers had been killed or kidnapped on their farmlands, travellers ambushed on highways, and villages burnt down during attacks.
Police authorities in both Kogi and Niger states are yet to respond to the latest incidents.
