Many Nigerians residing in Katsina State have fled to neighbouring Niger Republic to escape persistent attacks by kidnappers and bandits, Daily Trust on Sunday has learnt.


In addition to evacuating their family members, the Nigerians are also acquiring plots and building houses in Niger Republic’s towns of Maradi and Dan Issa.

This is even as some of them have obtained residence permit, allowing them to stay in the West African country


Activities of kidnappers heightened recently in Katsina State, with many residents falling victims or being forced to pay large sums of money to secure the release of loved ones.

In December 2018, the state Governor, Aminu Masari, raised alarm that the state was under the siege of kidnappers.

Katsina’s neighbour, Zamfara State, has seen a spike in kidnapping and banditry over the years, with hundreds of lives lost in 2018 alone.

Most of the residents fleeing Katsina State are from Jibia Local Government Area, a community sitting on the border between Nigeria and Niger Republic.

A visit to Jibia and Magama, border towns, by our correspondent showed that most of those who moved to Niger spent the day running businesses in Katsina and only returned to Maradi or Dan Issa to pass the night. All their businesses and social life are based in Nigeria, but their new homes are in Niger.

Some of those interviewed attributed their reasons to the relative safety in the neighbouring country.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that more than 25 Nigerian millionaires have moved to Niger. Some live in rented houses while others have built their own houses. Some of the rich men received threats before deciding to relocate.

It was also gathered that individuals in Jibia frequently changed phone numbers as a result of constant harassment from suspected criminals threatening their lives.

Although people were scared to discuss insecurity issues in the towns “for fear of informants” exposing them, the few that agreed to talk to Daily Trust on Sunday on condition of anonymity said more people would relocate to Niger for safety if the security situation did not improve.

A wealthy individual who also sought anonymity said, “I can tell you about 25 of us are presently living in Niger Republic.

“I, for example, have been there since a botched attack on my resident. This is my fifth year in Niger; I’m there with my 11 children.

“I was renting a house for three million CFA for three years, and decided it will not be wise to continue that way, so I decided to buy my own house, which I’m presently residing in.

“Now I have gotten a resident permit, a national identity card, and all entitlements of my landed property, and my children attend school in Niger,” he said.

He showed Daily Trust on Sunday a scar on his head which he said was from a cutlass wound he got from an attack on his home in Jibia.

“Every day I come to Jibia and attend to friends and businesses at my friend’s stall. I can only return home when things normalise. Even yesterday, we coughed out N500,000 to secure the release of one of our sons. He had been in captivity for 30 days,” he said.

He added that they relocated to Niger out of necessity because “we only have one life to live.”

Most of the villagers of Fafara, Shinfida, Tsambe and Gurbi, all of Jibia Local Government Area, sleep in neighbouring Nigerien villages of Bimma and Gabi, even though the villages on the other side of the border are not better off in terms of development, but for their peace, Daily Trust on Sunday was told.

A resident of Fafara village in Jibia said bandits had constituted themselves into the law in the area.

“They determine what happens and when it happens,” he said.

“Over 30 men from our village pass the night in villages of border towns (in Niger Republic), they only appear in the morning to go to their farms and the (our) village,” he said.

Another resident who simply gave his name as Ya’u, said in Decmber, 2018, in Tsambe village, 11 people were kidnapped, adding that “at present, the village is trying to raise N2.5m to appease the bandits not to raid the village again.

“Our members are running away to towns in Jibia and Niger Republic,” he said

Daily Trust on Sunday was given the names of six wealthy individuals in Jibia who relocated to Maradi and Dan Issa in Niger Republic. (We are not mentioning the names here for their safety.)

The men fled Katsina after receiving threats to their lives.

“Some have moved with their families and rented accommodation and others have acquired their own houses,” a resident said.

“These men are either living at Zarya I, II or III or Ali Dan Tsoho areas of Maradi town. These areas are mostly inhabited and owned by Nigerians and other foreigners,” he added.

Those who cannot afford to live in the big towns in Maradi and Dan Issa are putting up in villages across the border. Other villages hosting Nigerians are Gabi, Yan Kingasau, Dubura and Bimma.

Confirming the relocation of Jibia residents to Niger Republic, the District Head of Jibia and Sarkin Arewa of Katsina, Alhaji Rabe Rabi’u, said the activities of bandits and kidnappers had paralysed economic activities in the area.

Alhaji Rabi’u said people were no longer free to operate for fear of the criminals, adding that “the once blossoming economy of the town is now under threat.”

Source : https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/kidnapping-katsina-residents-relocate-to-niger-republic.html

A vote for APC in d coming presidential election won't be a vote for Buhari; it'd be a vote for an evil, greedy, corrupt, provincial cabal made up of Mamman Daura, Abba Kyari, Isa Funtua & their minions. PMB is an insentient human vegetable who's barely aware of his own existence - Kperogi

Has Nigeria ever been this insecure?

ochejoseph:


A vote for APC in d coming presidential election won't be a vote for Buhari; it'd be a vote for an evil, greedy, corrupt, provincial cabal made up of Mamman Daura, Abba Kyari, Isa Funtua & their minions. PMB is an insentient human vegetable who's barely aware of his own existence - Kperogi

One would expect them to vote against Buhari, but I doubt they would.

My brother, those almajiri people don't reason like normal human beings o. They believe their lives are not worth being better than it is.

What a waste.

A couple of those in that axis actually have their ancestral root from Niger.

If only the Northern leaders and the media will subject this administration to such scrutiny as they did the immediate past one, the menace wouldn't have gone out of hand.

Who pays huge ransom to terrorists and expect not to be more emboldened to ask for more?

The Katsina State Government on Wednesday lamented that........“Our state is currently under serious siege by armed robbers, kidnappers and armed bandits who arrest rural people at the grassroots at will and demand ransom, which if not paid, they kill their victims.

..The people of Katsina in the 34 local governments now sleep with one eye closed and the other opened.
“Our state is in a dangerous situation.

Travelers are afraid of being stopped on the highway and arrested by kidnappers who demand ransom,” Masari said the situation was so bad that some thieves stole some electrical equipment near the Government House at the Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Katsina.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/katsina-state-under-siege-gov-masari/amp/

This is grave indictment on the president as residents of his home state are being displaced and killed but trust the amnestic and near-falling in campaign man, all that matters to him is the peeks of power but not the responsibility therein.

Meanwhile Buhari is in the epicentre of the insecurity to campaign today while the same governors of Borno, Zamfara and Kastina have lamented the deplorable state of insecurity in their domain.

Shame to dem APC Zombies Atiku we know, Atiku we shall vote WE stand with restoration WE stand with economical revitalisation WE stand with restructuring WE stand with respect for rule of law WE stand with true democracy WE stand with true patriotism WE stand with Wazirin Atiku Abubakar WE stand with PDP!!

Bubu's backyard.