Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Farmers in Obasooto farm settlement in ldanre area of Ondo state have lamented the invasion and destruction of their farms by herdsmen.
They said that on arrival at their farms for the day’s farming activities, they saw the vast destruction by the herders who invaded their farmlands the previous night with their cows.
According to them “all the crops on our farms were eaten up by the cows led by the herders.
Recounting their losses, the farmers lamented that millions of naira invested on the farms vanished just in one night.
They described the incident as heartlessness on the part of the herdsmen.
Speaking with newsmen, a physically challenged octogenarian, Pa Olatuja Idowu said that his farm and that of his wife which had cassava, pineapples, plantains and cocoyam were all destroyed by the herdsmen and their cows.
Pa Idowu said that the herdsmen first attacked his wife’s farm about ten days ago but came again to destroy his farm and the rest of his wife’s farm.
Another farmer, Friday Ayaghi, said that his cassava plantation which he had been cultivating for a while were eaten and destroyed by the cows.
Ayaghi pointed out that he invested every penny on him “on the plantation in order to use the proceeds to take care of his wife and children.
He lamented that “all the plans had gone to ruins.
“Feeding of my family has now become a challenge which I don’t know how to solve.
On her part, Mrs Sarah Akingbesote narrated that all her over six hundred heaps of cocoyam were eaten up by the cows which were led into her farm by the herdsmen.
The farmers said that the destruction of their farms have been reported to the state security outfit codenamed Amotekun.
Contacted for comment, the state Commander of Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye confirmed the incident.
Adeleye said that operatives of the corps had been deployed to the affected farms to ascertain the level of the destruction as well as quantify the damages done to individual farms.
He added that the state Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) had been I formed and invited to identify and apprehend the herders that committed the crime.
The commander appealed to the affected farmers to allow peace and as the security outfit would get to the root of the incident and expose the culprits.
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