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By Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Herdsmen have destroyed a maize farm worth over N50 million in Agu-Ekwegbe community in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Owner of the farm, John Abonyi, who took journalists round the five-hectare farm yesterday, said the herders grazed on the farm, leading to a total destruction of all the crops there.
He recounted his ordeal: “As you can see here, the Fulani herders invaded this farm, not once, but three times. I have reported to the police and other security agencies, but they didn’t come to our rescue.
“After applying fertiliser last Monday, they came on Thursday and grazed on my farm. They destroyed everything in the farm where I planted maize and beans. I called Area Commander Udenu, and he directed me to call the DPO; I called the DPO and he said I should come to the station. I told him that they should come to the farm to see the extent the herders destroyed my farm, but he insisted I must come. The next thing was a call and, behold, he said he is the chairman of Fulani herdsmen in Nsukka. So, I asked him to come and see what his boys did in my farm, but he said I should come to the police station. Painfully, as we are talking of what happened on Thursday, they came back again on Tuesday, and grazed inside my farm. There is forest around here, but they preferred grazing inside my farm.
“I have suffered. I invested more than N50 million here, but look at what Fulani herdsmen have done to me. How will I pay the loan I collected? I left the North because of the Boko Haram issue and came back home to do my business, but look at what I have been subjected to by Fulani herders. Where will I run to now?
“Even yesterday, they came back and met my workers who incidentally caught one of them and I called the police, but they insisted that I should come to the station instead of coming here to take the boy we caught. The boy was released because there was nobody to help us take him to the police station.”
President of the community’s Town Union, Uchechukwu Ene, lamented the level of destruction in the farm land and appealed to the state government for intervention. He regretted that the agrarian community cannot save themselves as Fulani herders continuously invade their farms with AK-47, surround them and graze the farm with their cattle.
“The Fulani herdsmen have more sophisticated weapons than security men. You cannot do anything when they surrender you with their AK-47 gun in your farm.
We are suffering in Agu-Ekwegbe because we use borrowed money (loan) to farm, to enable us to make some profit and take care of our wards.
“We need intervention and help from the Enugu state government. Apart from destruction of farms, they also indulge in robbing and kidnapping commuters in Agu-Ekwuegbe,” he stated.
