Suspected herdsmen have wrecked havocs in a multi-million-naira maize farm owned by members of the Maize Growers Processing Marketer Association of Nigeria (MAGPAMAN) in Ekiti state.
DailyTrust reports that the farm covering about 235 hectares of land is at the state forest reserve in Aduloju farmstead located along Ado-Ijan road in Ado local government area of the state.
Confirming this development, Tope Emmanuel, the state secretary of the association, said the herders had been terrorizing the farmers in the last one week leading to the destruction of the maize farm.
Emmanuel said the herders stormed the farm at night with dangerous weapons to feed their cows and, “all efforts to stop them have been rebuffed.”
He added that members obtained about N6.6 million loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Anchor Borrowers’ programme in September last year to plant the maize, adding that the 160 members had been left with nothing to cultivate.
Also confirming the incident, the Ekiti Amotekun corps commander, Brig-Gen Joe Komolafe (retd) said “We are handling the situation.”
