Kaduna Recovers 500,000 Hectares of Farmland From Bandits, Govt Says

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Kaduna State Government says it has regained control of more than 500,000 hectares of land previously occupied by bandits across the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, disclosed this on Sunday at a gala night hosted by his ministry for members of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

The journalists were in Kaduna for their 2026 Retreat, which focused on “2027 General Elections: Navigating Legal, Security and Ethical Challenges in the Media.”

Maiyaki said the recovery of the affected areas had improved the security situation and allowed farmers who were previously prevented from accessing their farms to return to agricultural activities.

He said, “I’m happy to tell you that the present administration under the able leadership of Governor Uba Sani has, within the past three years, recovered over 500,000 hectares of land from bandits.

“As you know, without security you cannot achieve anything. Before now, farmers in such areas were unable to go to their farms due to the activities of the bandits.”

According to the commissioner, insecurity had previously disrupted movement between Kaduna and Abuja, with some travellers avoiding the route because of attacks by bandits.

“I’m happy to say that that has now become a thing of the past because the security situation in Kaduna State has greatly improved,” the commissioner said.

Maiyaki maintained that security remained central to the state government’s development agenda, describing it as a foundation for economic and social progress.

He also highlighted the government’s interventions in agriculture, saying 500 trucks of fertiliser were distributed free of charge to more than 150,000 farmers during the 2026 farming season.

“In 2024, the government distributed 400 trucks of fertiliser to farmers free of charge. Similarly, 500 trucks of the commodity were distributed in 2025 in addition to the 500 trucks distributed to over 150,000 farmers in 2026,” he said.

On education, Maiyaki said the number of out-of-school children in the state had dropped from 550,000 to 187,000.

He added that the state government purchased 100 compressed natural gas buses in July 2025 to provide cheaper transportation for students and civil servants.

“From July 2025, no fewer than 3.5 million people have been transported with the vehicles, and nothing less than N3.8m has been saved for people.

“Even the Nigeria Labour Congress has confirmed that workers have saved 40 per cent of their income since the introduction of the CNG buses,” he added.

The Chairman of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel, Murtala Adewale, commended the Kaduna State Government for hosting the gala night.