By The Guardian Editorial Board, July 25, 2026
Reports of armed bandits forcing communities in Sokoto to pay taxes before they can cultivate their land, though not new in parts of the country, add a disturbing dimension to Nigeria’s insecurity crisis.
Unscrupulous actors must not be allowed to violate national sovereignty. It is time the Federal Government reclaimed all its rural communities through stronger policing and leadership, alongside youth-focused development and a deliberate commitment to bringing every part of the federation under legitimate authority.
Some communities are said to contribute between N4 million and N6 million before the commencement of the planting season. Those who fail to comply risk having their farms destroyed or being kidnapped or killed.
Sometimes, additional levies must be paid during harvest, or produce surrendered to these men of the underworld. This has gone beyond being just another case of banditry. Criminals pose a direct challenge to the Nigerian state whenever they exercise the power to decide who pays what, when and how, especially through the instrumentality of violence.
Throughout human history, the imposition of taxes has remained one of the clearest evidence of established government authority. Citizens pay taxes to the state. In return, the state provides security and public services. In Sokoto, however, that formula has broken down. As criminals collect compulsory levies, citizens are effectively compelled to pay two governments. Ironically, while one derives its authority from the Constitution, the other derives its power from violence and the constant threat of death.
This problem is not limited to Sokoto alone. Across parts of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger and other northern states, patterns have emerged showing that, in many communities, farmers negotiate access to their land with armed bandits. This indicates that the crisis is assuming a broader national dimension. Where government authority is perceived to have retreated, criminals are likely to step in and fill the void. Unless there is firm pushback by the state, the appalling possibility remains that these actors will become emboldened to undertake even more daring acts.
Beyond Sokoto and other affected states, the ripple effects of this crisis are far-reaching. Northern Nigeria is one of the country’s major food-producing regions. That agricultural production will decline because farmers cannot safely cultivate their land is merely stating the painful obvious. Food shortages and higher prices are inextricably linked to reduced harvests. The country’s bid to attain food security, therefore, must move in tandem with the provision of physical security.
Yearly efforts by federal and state governments to provide farmers with loans, fertiliser subsidies and improved seedlings are commendable. However, these interventions will not boost food production as long as farmers face risk of death, kidnap or violent injury if they visit their land. Every abandoned farm and disrupted planting season increases the likelihood of higher inflation and a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
The responsibility for governing states rests directly with governors, many of whom have been drawn into negotiating the release of abducted citizens from bandits. Two wrongs do not make a right. While negotiations with criminals may provide temporary reprieve after attacks, managing a crisis can never take the place of good governance. Decades after the creation of many northern states, rural communities remain bereft of visible government presence, lacking roads, schools, hospitals and economic opportunities. Their absence provides fertile ground for discontent and the spread of anti-government ideologies.
Closely related is the issue of the Almajiri system. Any insinuation that every Almajiri child will someday become a bandit takes the argument too far. Many of these young people have gone on, and will continue to go on, to make legitimate livelihoods within their means. Decades of neglect, however, have consistently left many children without access to quality education or vocational training. Where state governments allow such conditions to persist, they unwittingly create an opening through which bandits and other criminal groups can recruit the young and vulnerable.
The role of illegal arms must be central to any sincere effort to solve this problem. Bandits seldom wield Dane guns. Their access to weapons, like Kalashnikovs and RPGs has enabled them to overpower local security structures and subjugate communities. The country must strengthen security at its borders, recover illegal weapons and check arms trafficking. There must also be a visible rebalance of arms bearers. In the absence of a reassuring state presence, many communities see security personnel only after criminals have struck. At every other time, the only armed individuals they encounter are bandits.
Current moves by the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to establish state policing are commendable. Nigeria’s vast landmass has persistently exposed the limitations of a centrally controlled police force. Properly implemented, with strong safeguards, state police can make a significant difference, especially in intelligence gathering and faster response. Once again, state governors will have a vital role to play through sustained investment in personnel training and the provision of equipment.
However, security alone is not the solution. State police and military operations are only parts of the solution. Sustainable security will remain elusive unless the government renews its commitment to expanding access to education and empowering its large youth population. Insecurity and the absence of rural development go hand in hand in undermining state authority.
The Federal Government must step up efforts to dismantle bandit groups and their networks across the country. It beats the imagination that in the 21st century, bandits can deploy communication platforms to their advantage without arrest, despite the presence of several state agencies, while ordinary citizens who express dissent are swiftly apprehended. Intelligence gathering should be strengthened. More importantly, government must restore its authority and establish a permanent presence in affected communities in Sokoto and across the region. The Sokoto experience should be of profound concern to the country.
Beyond collecting money, bandits have begun exercising powers that belong exclusively to the Nigerian state. Sovereignty is sacred. The Constitution reads, “We the people…” not “We the people… and the bandits…” The Constitution must never be shared with criminals. Ordinary farmers in Sabon Birni, or anywhere else in the country, must be able to cultivate their land without first seeking permission from armed criminals. Until that freedom is restored, the country’s authority remains diminished and its promise to the citizenry unfulfilled.