Former Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 2, Bala Hassan, has linked the rising cost of food to insecurity, highlighting that some farmers in Nigeria have been unable to access their farms for up to four years.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Independence Day special programme, Hassan noted, “I know the security agencies have been trying their best to make sure farmers go back to their land, but definitely, there is still a lot more to be done.”
He emphasized the situation in the North-West, a key agricultural region in the country. “If you look at the North-West, which produces a lot of the food consumed in this part of the country and the cattle, many farmers for the past two, three, four years have not been able to go back to the farm.”
Hassan explained that local gangs, commonly referred to as bandits, target farmers, extorting them through violent means.
“They [farmers] go to the farm, they will be kidnapped, and they [bandits] ask for ransom,” he said. He added that this issue affects both the planting and harvesting periods, further disrupting agricultural activities.
“Even after planting, when farmers come to harvest, these bandits will come, cause problems, and sometimes even kill the farmers. So, that has disrupted a lot of farming activities,” Hassan remarked.