By ZAGAZOLA MAKAMA

A fresh storm is sweeping through the Yobe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), following explosive allegations by a livestock owner who says senior Agro Ranger officers unlawfully detained, extorted, and converted his animals for personal use.

The victim, Alhaji Ardo Dan Karami, a respected pastoralist from Kumari Village in Damaturu LGA, is accusing Assistant Commandant Ahmed Isa Michika, head of the NSCDC Agro Rangers Unit in Yobe, and his team of perpetrating what he describes as “daylight robbery under the cover of uniform”.

This latest scandal comes barely months after the NSCDC Command in Yobe was mired in a major corruption case involving the escort of vandalised and stolen railway materials, a development that led to the removal of the then State Commandant.

According to a petition filed by Dan Karami through his lawyer, the ordeal began on Oct. 18, 2025, when Agro Rangers personnel stormed his home in his absence and arrested 340 cows and 18 sheep, accusing them of destroying a farm. The animals were transported to Damaturu, but what followed, according to the victim, “was nothing short of criminality”.

The officers allegedly slaughtered one of the sheep claiming it had a fracture but refused to hand over the carcass to its owner. Even more troubling, three cows were reportedly loaded into their official Hilux vehicle, never to be seen again.

Later, one of the missing cows, which was heavily pregnant at the time of arrest, was discovered to have delivered and died in custody at the Damaturu Pilgrims Camp under the NSCDC’s watch. The remaining two cows are still missing. The petition states that before the officers agreed to even “open the case”, they demanded N250,000 from the victim.

After admitting to holding the livestock, the officers then compelled the herdsman to pay N2,000,000 as “compensation” for alleged farm damage, despite no court process, no assessment, and no verification of the claim.

But the extortion allegedly did not end there.

The officers reportedly charged N3,000 per cow as “bail money” for 300 cows, amounting to close to another N900,000. In essence, the victim was allegedly forced to pay: 250,000 “case opening fee”, 2,000,000 “compensation” and 900,000 “bail fees” for the cows, bringing total alleged extortion to N3,150,000.

After these payments, only 340 cows and two sheep were released. However, 15 sheep, one ram, one slaughtered sheep, and two cows remain unaccounted for, animals the victim values at N6.25 million.

When senior authorities from Yobe Sate Government confronted Assistant Commandant Michika and his deputy over the matter, they were forced to refund N900,000.

But rather than admit the full amount collected, they allegedly claimed they took only N800,000, and said they had already spent N50,000 from it. Despite being caught in this contradiction, no known disciplinary action has yet been taken.

This is not the first time that the NSCDC Yobe Command has found itself entangled in accusations of corruption and criminal collusion.

On July 8, 2025, troops of Operation Hadin Kai intercepted a truck loaded with vandalised railway iron sleepers along with a shiny NSCDC-marked Hilux van escorting the stolen materials. Inside the vehicle were five NSCDC officers; they were escorting the loot.

A total of N128,500 In bribe money was found stuffed inside the inner clothing of one of the officers. The scandal was so damning that it triggered the removal of the State Commandant.

In community pushed to the brink and region still plagued by insecurity, such actions by security personnel could worsen tensions.

Beyond the financial loss and personal trauma, the victim’s lawyer warns that the actions of the NSCDC officers carry serious security implications for Yobe State and the entire North-East.

In the petition, the counsel stressed that incidents of extortion, illegal seizure of livestock, and abuse of pastoral communities are not isolated misdemeanours — they are triggers of insecurity.

“Acts of injustice like this, if not swiftly addressed, are capable of escalating into full-blown security crises,” the petition warned.

The lawyer cited examples from Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, and parts of Niger and Kaduna States, where years of unchecked harassment, extortion, illegal arrests, and exploitation of Fulani pastoralists by certain security operatives and local vigilantes eventually contributed to the rise of banditry. (Zagazola)

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