Leadnaija
Atleast 500 farmers and their families from Gwoza LGA are currently stranded in Baga town after they escaping from ISWAP enclaves in the North East of Kukawa following brutal massacred at Kwata Yobe and Tudun Kanta, located in northeastern Kukawa, by the by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), on Sunday.
Abbah Gwoza, the Leader of the farmers in Baga disclsoed that the victims ran out of the ISWAP enclaves after a second wave of attack on rescue teams comprising of the army, Civilian Joint Task Force and some victims families who went to evacuate corpses.
“A joint rescue operation involving soldiers, members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), and local volunteers attempted to recover the bodies of the slain farmers but encountered another ambush from ISWAP fighters believed to be based in the Tumbum Shanu area.
The team managed to bury 43 bodies before being compelled to abandon their mission under heavy fire, resulting in injuries for two soldiers and one CJTF member,”he said.
The Transactional Relationship Between The Farmers And Terrorists
Zagazola Makama understand that the farmers along with some of their wives, primarily from the Gwoza and Damargu tribes in southern Borno, ventured to Kukawa to cultivate beans and onions an agricultural practice established over three decades.
Each season they are known for coming to the Lake Chad Basin to cultivate Beans and Unions. This business did not stop even after the occupation of ISWAP in those areas.
During the Rainy season, the farmers negotiated with ISWAP around some insurgents enclaves close to Monguno. More than 400 farmers cultivated their crops under the protection of the insurgents. In most cases they go with their wives to the farm in order to bridge trust with the insurgents elements.
Each of the farmers paid N10,000 per a hector of farm and at the end of the harvest, they will give the ISWAP two bags out of every ten bags as Zakat.
Following the success of the raining season farming, the farmers decided to negotiate for another farmland at Mangari approximately about 8 kilometers to Baga in Kukawa for the dry season farming. Under this arrangement, 300 farmers paid N10,000 each to the insurgents.
They were given up-to 2kilometers farmlands. But in the course of the arrangement, little did they know that the second arrangement was done with the Boko Haram Buduma Faction and not the ISWAP group.
This time, their strategy for survival, which involved paying levies to secure access to farmland, tragically turned deadly.
In the evening of the attack ISWAP learnt that some farmers were seeing helping some JAS members to move their livestock comprising of goat and rams to a location within the area prompting suspicious activities. The followed the footsteps of the farmer and found them around Kwata Yobe and Tudun Kanta, located some meters away from Dumba.
A Fatal Misunderstanding
A survivor recounted how ISWAP fighters approached the group and questioned them about tax payments. Upon confirming the farmers’ paid the Boko Haram and not ISWAP, the militants unleashed a barrage of gunfire, leading to the tragic loss of life while many escaped with bullets wounds.
In the aftermath of the attack, many farmers’ wives were released to return back to Baga where they relayed harrowing situation to the security authorities.
Reports indicate that ISWAP transported these women to their hideouts in Dogon Chikun after navigating through Daban Leda, Tumbum Shanu, and Tumbum Buduma.
This heart-wrenching detail deepens the tragedy for the families left behind, who now face the double burden of mourning their lost loved ones and worrying about the fate of the abducted women.Tap Here To Read Full Details
