A new wave of controversy has hit the Yobe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) after a herder accused senior agro-ranger officers of unlawful detention, extortion, and the conversion of his livestock.
The accuser, Alhaji Ardo Dan Karami of kumari village in damaturu, alleged in a petition that assistant commandant Ahmed Isa Michika, who heads the agro rangers unit, and his team carried out what he described as “daylight robbery under the cover of uniform”.
Zagazola Makama reports that the claims add to the command’s troubled record, coming months after officers were implicated in escorting vandalised railway materials, a scandal that led to the removal of the former state commandant.
According to the petition filed through his lawyer, Dan Karami said his ordeal began on October 18, 2025 when agro rangers personnel stormed his residence in his absence and seized 340 cows and 18 sheep over allegations that the animals had damaged a farm. The animals were taken to damaturu, but what followed, he said, was “nothing short of criminality”.
One of the seized sheep was slaughtered on grounds that it had a fracture, yet the carcass was not released to the owner. 3 cows were reportedly loaded into an official hilux and vanished. A pregnant cow later d!ed after giving birth while in custody at the Damaturu pilgrims camp. 2 more cows remain missing.
The petition also alleges that officers demanded 250,000 naira before they would “open the case”. They then compelled him to pay 2 million naira as compensation for alleged farm damage, despite no investigation or court process.
The officers allegedly charged 3000 naira per cow as bail for 300 cows, bringing the fee to about 900,000 naira. In total, the livestock owner claims he was forced to pay 3 million, 150,000 naira.
After the payments, 340 cows and 2 sheep were released, but 15 sheep, 1 ram, another sheep previously slaughtered and 2 cows remain unaccounted for. He values the missing animals at 6,250,000 naira.
When senior officials from the Yobe state government confronted assistant commandant Michika and his deputy, the pair reportedly refunded 900 thousand naira, though they claimed they had collected only 800,000 naira and had already spent 50,000. No disciplinary action has yet been announced.
The incident mirrors an earlier scandal on July 8, 2025, when troops of operation hadin kai intercepted a truck carrying vandalised railway sleepers accompanied by an NSCDC-branded Hilux. 5 officers were found in the van, and 1 was caught with 128,500 naira hidden in his clothing. The fallout led to the removal of the then commandant.
In a region still grappling with insecurity, community leaders warn that such conduct by security personnel risks further eroding public trust and deepening tensions.
