Alleged ₦50,000 Per Acre ‘Tax’ On Famers By Bandits Escalates Fears Of Emerging ‘Parallel Government’ In Kano, Katsina

<p>Alleged<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that the alleged tax on farmers in some states in North West by bandits have escalated fears of emerging &OpenCurlyQuote;parallel government’ in that part of Nigeria&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Of recent&comma; armed groups operating in parts of Kano and Katsina states are alleged to be extorting farmers&comma; demanding up to ₦50&comma;000 per acre from sugarcane growers before harvest&comma; as they enforce a parallel system of governance within key forest reserves in the region&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to reports last Friday&comma; the armed groups have entrenched themselves in Rugu Forest in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State and Falgore Forest in Doguwa Local Government Area of Kano State&comma; where they collect illegal farm taxes and issue threats against non-compliant farmers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The report noted that farmers who refuse to pay the imposed levies face intimidation&comma; destruction of their crops&comma; and the risk of violent attacks&comma; forcing many to abandon their <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">farmlands<&sol;a> entirely&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Sugarcane farmers are said to be the primary targets&comma; though maize production has also been affected&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The forests according to an activist Bakatsine with X handle &commat;DanKatsina50&comma; are strategically located within the Kano–Katsina food belt&comma; a major agricultural corridor supplying sugarcane and maize to large markets such as Dawanau Market in Kano&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Experts warn that continued disruption of farming activities in the area could trigger wider food shortages and price increases across northern Nigeria&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;31851" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-31851" style&equals;"width&colon; 243px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-31851" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;01&sol;download-20&period;png" alt&equals;"Alleged ₦50&comma;000 Per Acre &OpenCurlyQuote;Tax’ On Famers By Bandits Escalates Fears Of Emerging &OpenCurlyQuote;Parallel Government’ In Kano&comma; Katsina" width&equals;"243" height&equals;"206" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-31851" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>Katsina and Kano<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Despite the presence of military and police checkpoints along the Falgore road&comma; the report claims that armed groups are operating within five kilometres of these security positions&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;This has raised concerns about the effectiveness of security coverage and the capacity of authorities to protect rural communities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Residents and farming communities reportedly describe the situation as a gradual takeover&comma; with armed actors enforcing rules&comma; collecting levies&comma; and exercising control over daily economic activities without resistance&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The development has intensified calls for urgent action by Kano and Katsina state governments and federal security agencies to dismantle the alleged parallel structures and prevent a looming food-security crisis&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;