From Maryam Ahmadu-Suka, Kaduna
The Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU) has raised alarm over the resurgence of banditry in Kaduna state.
It said the fragile peace achieved after government-backed negotiations with armed groups in 2024 was now under threat.
In a press statement on Tuesday, BEPU noted that the improved security, which defined much of 2025, had encouraged farmers to return to their lands and resume full agricultural activities before the latest incidents began to unsettle communities.
The statement signed by BEPU Chairman, Dr. Isah Muhammad, cited the killing of a former councillor of Gayam Ward, Hon. Auwal Magaji Kwaga, along the Birnin Gwari–Kwaga road as one of the incidents that has deeply shaken residents.
According to the union, “The attackers not only killed the former councillor but also made away with his motorcycle, in a pattern similar to other recent attacks on residents across the emirate.”
BEPU described the incidents as deliberate provocations by criminal elements who have refused to renounce violence and are bent on destabilising the peace process.
The union recalled that the state government’s peace engagements with armed groups in 2024 brought remarkable stability that lasted through most of 2025.
However, it said that during the harvest season, cattle invasions of farmlands were recorded in several communities, leading to massive crop destruction and severe losses for farmers.
BEPU Chairman disclosed that a documentation exercise among affected farmers showed that no fewer than 173 farmers were impacted across multiple wards and settlements.
The affected areas, he said, include Gayam, Magajin Gari I and II, Tabanni, Kuyello, Dogon Dawa, Kakangi, Damari, Kazage, Kutemeshi, Bugai, Samaru and Doka, among others.
It added that heavily impacted farming locations include Farm Centre, Fadama Bino Tabanni, Dajin Barmo, Falwaya Reserve, Damari agricultural zones, Dogon Dawa farmlands, Gangaren Fadama Bino and Dajin Ganda.
According to BEPU, “Measurable reports confirmed that at least 182 hectares of cultivated farmland were destroyed, warning that the actual scale may be higher due to traditional land measurements not captured in the data.
“The destroyed crops include maize, beans, sorghum, millet, soybean, rice, tomatoes, potatoes and pepper, which form the backbone of food supply and rural income in the area.”
The union said individual farmers reported losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of naira to over four million naira, with cumulative losses running into hundreds of millions.
BEPU called on the Federal and Kaduna State Governments to urgently strengthen security surveillance along the Kaduna–Birnin Gwari highway and troubled axes while conducting an independent verification of the farmland destruction and providing relief and compensation to affected farmers.
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