File image for illustration.
By Peter Duru, Makurdi
A farmer in Kastina-Ala Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State has been forced to abandon his farm after suspected bandits demanded N500,000 from him as a condition for accessing and harvesting his crops.
The farmer, whose identity was not disclosed, is a resident of Mbagena Council Ward in Kastina-Ala LGA, where suspected local bandits have allegedly been terrorising residents and imposing ransom demands on members of the community.
His son, a 300-level student of Benue State University, BSU, John James, disclosed this at the weekend while narrating his family’s ordeal at a capacity-building workshop on Promoting Safety and Security Rights, Accountability and Access to Justice, organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, in Makurdi.
