A Nov. 3 BusinessDay analysis described payments collected from farming communities in northern Nigeria, including charges some armed groups demand before planting.
Journalist Obidike Okafor framed the charges as an unofficial tax burden on farming communities.
AFP described the groups as financially motivated and said they kidnap for ransom and impose payments on farmers and mining operators, as EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of bandit payments and kidnappings reported. AFP also cited poor policing, stretched security forces and limited state presence in remote areas.
