FOLLOWING
the reported loss of four cows, herdsmen invaded a four-hectare cassava farm in
Likosi-Alabata village in Papalanto, Obafemi-Owode Local
Government Area of
Ogun State, destroying farm produce worth N6.8 million.
The herdsmen
also inflicted machete cuts on one of the workers, who is now in the hospital.
However, the Police stepped in, with the farm owner and the herdsmen agreeing
to settle out of court, while the suspected cow thief, a vigilante, will be
charged to court.
Farm owner’s
story
Meanwhile,
the farm owner, Mrs Roseline Ogege, who narrated her ordeal in the hands of the
herdsmen in Abeokuta yesterday, said the herdsmen have a camp close to her farmland.
Ogege added that she had spent over N6.8 million to get hybrid species of
cassava sticks with six month gestation period from an agricultural institute
in Ibadan, lamenting that the cattle ate up all she cultivated on the four
hectares of land. She said: “My workers went to the farm at Likosi Alabata
village in Papalanto to check the farm as usual. But they met herdsmen with
their cattle on the farm. “The cattle ate all the cassava sticks and when the
herders saw my workers, they chased them out of the farmland. As they were
running, one of them was caught and attacked with machetes. “We reported the
matter at Itori Police Station and were given one Investigating Police Officer
to follow us to the farm and examine the level of damage.”
Police
intervene
Contacted,
the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed
the incident, adding, however, that the Police have settled the matter between
the farmer and the herdsmen. He said: “It is true the cattle ate the cultivated
cassava on the farm. But the herdsmen alleged that four of his herd were
stolen. “The DPO Owode-Egba said he threatened to charge the herdsmen to court
for malicious damage, while the vigilante, who was working on guard, will be
charged for stealing because he was accused of stealing four cows. “They later
agreed to settle out of court to avoid litigation.”
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