‘We Fear Our Souls’

As women water vegetables and weed in a rural corner of North-Eastern Nigeria, men in uniform stand guard nearby with heavy guns.

They are agro rangers – a special security unit set up by the government to protect farmers from the jihadist forces of BOKO Haram and the West African state at any time.

“There is fear – fear for our souls,” Aisha Isa, 50, told the BBC as she tended to her plants.

Because it is no longer safe for his family to stay at home in the home they fled 11 years ago, he and many others like to enter the village of Dalwa in the catchment area of ​​the state capital, Maiduguri, early in the morning. It’s less than an hour away.

Now she lives in temporary housing, and growing beans and corn remains her only way to feed her family, she said.

“We will take the risk and come even if Rangers don’t stop.”

Here, the soldiers supported the ground, surrounded by well-defined ditches, where people could plant their crops. If they cross that border, the threat of Boko Haram is great.

42-year-old Dinapha Musa says: “They hear people are being kidnapped. “Some are being killed. That’s why I’m afraid and I don’t want to come without security protection.”

The father of 10 says he left his village, Konduga, 13 years ago and will not return there until the government provides lasting security.

In the 15 years since the Islamic insurgency began in North-Eastern Nigeria, thousands of people have been displaced and millions have been forced from their homes.

The number of people killed in targeted attacks on farmers this year will double again from 2024, according to research by the crisis and event data (acled) monitoring group.

However, the governor of Borno State is speeding up the integration of refugees into camps to return to the country – as part of his stabilization agenda, and combat disruptions in food production.

About four million people face food insecurity in conflict zones in the North and North-East, the UN warns. But some aid agencies say that the move to move farmers to enable them to increase agriculture has gone too fast.

The International Clisis Group, a non-profit organization focused on resolving deadly conflicts, says the policy puts internally displaced people at risk when armed groups evacuate farmers from areas that they control violently.

Kidnapped along with nine other farmers and still in shock for a long time after the ordeal, Abba Manapha Muhammed saw for the first time what happens when the victims do not pay.

“There is Muso who was killed because he could not pay the ransom. His family cannot meet the deadline,” said Mr. “He was killed and dumped. They asked the family to come and collect the body.”

Being held captive in the dense jungle for three days was ‘unbearable’, she said. “The little food they ate often left us feeling hungry and gave us diarrhea. There was no clean drinking water.”

The father-of-three tells the BBC he is too scared to return to the subsistence farm because “the rebels are still coming in. Yesterday, they kidnapped more than 10 people”.

Despite news like this, Mohammed Hassan Agalama, the commander who leads the Agro Ranger program in Borno, insists that the guards prevent the troops from violent attacks.

“We have never encountered many terrorists coming to attack farmers because they knew we were on the ground during the farming season of the Nigerian Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).

James Bulusi, spokesperson for NSCDC, opposes the government fighting its war against insurance, “” The only harvest is there to tell you, and the farmers do their normal business on the farm. “

However, he admits that resources are not enough.

Agro Ranger is a very small project and not a long term solution to regional insecurity.

“We can’t be everywhere. Aren’t we spirits. Are 600 armed agro rangers covering all the farms in Maiduguri? No.”

For this reason, the Federal government says it plans to expand the Agro Ranger program.

ACED’s ONEPER’s Analytical Africa Analyst Ladd Serwat says that this year has seen an increase in the number of deaths reported due to targeted attacks on farmers by armed groups.

In addition, during the first half of 2025 it is reported that the killings of Boko Haram and Stap have reached their highest level in five years.

Over in Maiduguri’s City Center, a group of farmers gathered at the home of Adamu Goni, the chairman of the national branch of the national association of sorghum producers, processors and traders.

The men sit on the edge under the broad branches of the tree, while the two women sit on the posts in the shade of the nearby veranda, as the goats and chickens roam.

The entire group has had their lives changed non-violently.

Among them is Baba Modu, whose 30-year-old nephew was shot on his farm by Boko Haram.

He says: “It makes me very sad. “They kill people like ants, without remorse. The killing of what we cultivate has been very bad, but this year I am out a lot.

Mr Modu sinks from his seat at one point, pausing for deep thought. He says that insecurity always weighs heavily on him and the community.

“Even if you are hungry and food is scarce, you cannot go to the farm. When we try, they drive us away or kill us.

Many farmers, like Mr. Modu, say that the army can go out and destroy the Nigerian power when they attack.

He adds: “Sometimes even security personnel run away when they see inhumane people.

On the other side of the compound, Mr Goni frequents the potato patch.

He tells the BBC that he has 10 hectares (24 acres) of land ready for harvesting 8km (5 miles) away, but he is afraid to collect his crops.

A neighboring farm owner was murdered on his land only weeks ago.

“There is no security. We just take the risk of going there, because when you go to the farm these Boko Haram people are there,” he said. “If you’re not lucky, they’ll kill you.”

Mr Goni believes that the military can do more to end the conflict.

“We are very angry. We are not happy with what is happening. If the government is bad, within a month, Boko Haram will end in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, NSCDC’s Mr WeBlus says the military is facing a wider conflict.

“Peace is gradual. You can’t do it in one day. It has to be many processes.”

But the process took a long time for farmers. For more than 15 years, insecurity continues to plague all aspects of people’s lives.

The BBC asked the Nigerian military about the agricultural community’s claims that it did not do enough to protect them, but it has not responded.

More BBC news on Nigeria:

Go to Bbrcafrica.com With many stories from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @Bbcafricaon Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at BbChafrica

BBC Africa Podcasts