Staring at the cloudy sky above the slumbering Rimni hamlet in the Zurmi area of Zamfara State, Haruna Ibrahim sat on stone rubble. His eyes were tinged with blood, a result of battering and cries after he dared to look terrorists in the face in an encounter. When asked to describe his experience, he frowned his face and scanned around to be sure no one was eavesdropping. He then told the story.
One dry afternoon in November 2021, the 35-year-old wrapped N300,000 cash in a black polythene bag, sped up his motorcycle as he headed towards the coven of armed bandits. Arriving at Mashema, a deep forest housing the terrorists near the Niger Republic, he bowed his head, buried the money bag in his armpit and stomped into their enclave. Enveloped with fear, he delivered the cash to them — a second tranche payment of the protection levy imposed on his small community.
Since 2020, the community has paid millions to the bandits, locals said. “This year, they [the bandits] asked…
