Suspected bandits have reportedly demanded residents of Akata village in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina state to pay N1 million levy to escape an attack.
It was gathered that the villagers have already started levying each community member the sum of N1,500 so as to meet up with the demand. Akata village is among several others in Batsari at the mercy of bandits.
Trouble ensued about two weeks ago when some bandits stormed the village and rustled some animals. Some of the villagers who went after the attackers recovered the animals from one of the bandits and succeeded in handing him over to soldiers.
Angered by the action, the bandits later demanded the villagers raise N1million to evade imminent attack. The amount came down to N700,000 following negotiations with the bandits, and was subsequently spread across the residents, a source said.
Another source privy to the development said the Divisional Police Office in Batsari LGA had asked the villagers to disregard such request, which the villagers dread to comply with due to fear of the bandits.
When contacted, Police Command spokesman, SP Gambo Isah said “We are investigating. We are not leaving any stone unturned. No amount of information is small.”
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