Bandit Camps Expand Into Farmlands as Bagega Residents Watch Their Livelihoods Destroyed

Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Gabriel Osa

Residents of Bagega in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State are raising urgent alarms as armed bandit groups reportedly lead their cattle directly into farmlands, destroying crops and wiping out the only means of survival for many rural families. Farmers say they now work in constant fear, watching their fields trampled or harvested by intruders while knowing that any form of resistance could lead to deadly retaliation.

Local voices describe a daily reality in which bandits move unchallenged around the community, grazing their herds on cultivated lands and asserting control over areas once considered safe. Families who depend entirely on seasonal harvests say the destruction has pushed them to the brink, leaving them unsure of how they will feed their households or recover from the financial blow.

What worries many is the growing silence from authorities, even as similar patterns emerge in surrounding villages located near long-established bandit camps. Residents fear that the spread of unchecked grazing on farmlands signals an expanding reign of intimidation in places that previously relied on fragile peace deals to maintain basic stability.

In a Stone Reporters remark, the situation in Bagega reflects several recent cases across northern states where farmers have been forced to abandon their lands due to bandit encroachment. Communities in Sokoto, Kaduna and Katsina have reported comparable scenarios in which criminals gradually extend their control by attacking crops, seizing farmland access or imposing silent rules that residents dare not challenge. These trends often precede wider displacement and worsening food insecurity.

A professional observation notes that the crisis threatens more than immediate livelihoods; it risks triggering long-term agricultural decline in a region already struggling with conflict-driven hunger. Without swift intervention, the destruction of farmlands may deepen poverty, intensify rural-urban migration and undermine security efforts already under strain.

The conclusive remark is that the voices from Bagega signal a community running out of options. If authorities do not act decisively to reclaim farmland access and restore protection for rural families, the erosion of hope witnessed today may soon spread to many more communities fighting for survival across Zamfara State.

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