In the evening of Friday, February 25, the Fulani community in Orile Aiyetoro, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, was told that three of its members had been attacked where they were grazing their cattle. Those who rushed to the scene found many dead cows but none of the young herders. Two months after the incident, they remain missing.
Earlier in January, some herders had been attacked around Agbede Aworo in Imeko Afon Local Government Area of the state. The Fulani community claimed six of its members were killed in that incident. However, in retaliation, the herders reportedly attacked Aworo, during which they destroyed many houses and killed several persons.
Yet, accounts from the police and residents of Aworo showed that the residents were not even aware of the attack on the herders until after the reprisal attack. According to the police, the herders had a problem with another community, Imeko Afon, from where they fled to Aworo. However, the herders on their revenge mission attacked Aworo because that was where they had found the corpses of their members.
In the last one year, several farmers and herders have been killed in Ogun State in clashes ignited by cattle grazing farmlands in agrarian communities
While the farmers claimed that herders were brazenly destroying farms and threatening their lives, the herders said farmers were killing their kinsmen and their cattle. They added that farmers make outrageous claims whenever there was “accidental” encroachment of cattle into the farms.
Farmers and herders now live in fear and frustration due to mutual distrust. Food crops and animal protein are now being produced in the state at the cost of human lives.
For about two months, PREMIUM TIMES investigated the killings in Yewa North and Imeko Afon local governments. This reporter had extensive interviews with residents of the affected communities including farmers and herders, as well as security and government officials.
Farmers and herders who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of the government to ensure that both parties coexist and practice their trades peacefully.
Hotbed of Crisis
Although the farmers/ herders conflict happen across Ogun State, Yewa North and Imeko Afon local government areas have become notorious for regular upheavals.
Yewa North (formerly Egbado North), with headquarters in Aiyetoro, is in the western axis of the state. Bordering the Republic of Benin, it has the largest expanse of land in the state and a population of about 300,000.
Imeko Afon has its headquarters in Imeko and is flanked by Oyo State, Abeokuta North, Yewa North and the Republic of Benin. It has an estimated population of 150,000.
Both local government areas have a large group of Fulani settlers who are largely engaged in cattle rearing. Yewa North has the highest number of the settlers. The local government is also being fed by immigrants from the Republic of Benin, who cross the border to graze their cattle in the area.
Security agencies and other stakeholders said the unique composition of the population of these local government areas, and their contrasting farming activities, account for the recurring conflicts which is almost becoming intractable.
The secretary of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Ogun State, Abiodun Ogunjimi, described the area as the food basket of the state. He said that the conflict poses a serious threat to food security.
“The majority of our farmers have abandoned their farms for fear of molestation and insecurity. Frankly speaking, Yewa axis is the food basket of this state but they are no more on the farms and their children are no more in schools for fear of molestation,” Mr Ogunjimi said.
Inflamed Crisis
The conflict had been a sore point in Ogun since 2000 but farmers said it has escalated since 2020.ⓘ
Community groups, such as Ketu Advancement Forum (KAF) and Ketu Community Development Council, listed some incidents in the earlier periods where farmers were killed in their farms. The slain victims include Adegbola Ajibiaran (Agbon-Ojodu, 2000), Ayinde Korole Korole (2002), Soji Aretola (2004), Oga Aja (Asa, 2006), Oga Ruth (Asa, 2006), Orisade (Igbonla, 2006), Adewale Adekunle (Asa, 2006), Dele Akintan(Ibeku, 2006) Joseph Oga (Igbonla, 2007), Moses Oga (Igbonla (2007), Ajana Ogunlana (Moro, 2007) and Abisekan Femi (Koomi, 2008).
Others are: Femi Oladokun (Koomi, 2008), Sunday Idosu(Asa, 2008), Gbenga Durosinmi (Iboro, 2008), Yomi Akinola (Igan-Alade, 2011), Ogunjobi Dotun (Kodera, 2011), Ogunyomi Ige (Igan-Alade, 2011), Phillip Akan-an (Owode-Ketu, 2011), Amosun Olofinjin (Ogbon-Ojodu, 2012), Akinola Dayo Tunde (Agbon Ojodu, 2012) Semitan Agbaosi (Adesina Village, 2013), Opeita Ayo (Agbon Ojodu, 2017) and Olatunji Tangu Afolabi (Orisada, December 19, 2017).
However, an eruption in February 2021 was a wakeup call for both the government and security agencies. The incident started in Oha Farm Settlement in Imeko Afon Local Government Area of the state when one Dele Awoniyi was murdered by suspected herders in the midnight of Saturday, February 6, 2021.
Reactions immediately spread like wildfire to communities such as Owode-Ketu, Asa, Igboro and Agbon Ojodu, all in Yewa North. A total of 13 deaths were recorded and properties worth millions were destroyed in the mayhem. The government set up a peace and reconciliation committee to calm the warring groups.
In spite of the peace efforts, the communities have had to sleep with opened eyes, as clashes occur without notices in different parts of the state between farmers and herders.
Farmers bemoan attacks
Cassava and maize are the major crop produced in Ogun State. The crops mature quickly and harvest is often tedious and slow, due to lack of mechanisation. Farmers complain that several hectares of ttheir farms are often grazed by cattle or set ablaze by their herders, resulting in huge losses for farmers.
Coker Olumuyiwa, a graduate of Animal Science from the University of Ibadan, is a farmer at the Ogun State Model Farm Estate in Awowo. He took a PREMIUM TIMES reporter across his farm destroyed by herders. He recounted how in the dry season his three hectares of cassava farm was set on fire by herdsmen, destroying the crop that was nearing maturity.
According to Mr Olumuyiwa, the herders first grazed the farm before setting it on fire.
“The reason why they set it on fire is that the fresh grass that emerges after the fire is very nutritious for their cattle, especially with the harsh dry season,” he said.ⓘ
He said he had taken a loan to fund the cultivation of the farm, but could not make the repayment because he lost the crops. Although officials of the microfinance bank, LAPO, came to see the damage, they could only give him more time to pay back the loan. The burnt cassava farm is regrowing especially with the coming of the raining season, but its yield and quality has been compromised.
A female farmer, simply identified as Alice, was not so fortunate. She lost a hectare of cassava farm in which she invested N400,000. She has abandoned the farm to weeds.
The Chairman of the farmers association, AFAN, in Yewa North, the worst affected area in Ogun State, Timothy Iweoba, spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on the plight of farmers in Aiyetoro.
“Most of our farmers have abandoned their farms for fear for their lives and for incessant losses due to herders’ attacks,” he said.
According to him, in January, farmers were attacked while harvesting their crops and when reports were made to the police, nothing was done to remedy the situation. He, however, noted that there had been no recent loss of lives on the part of farmers in Aiyetoro. He urged the government to implement the law on open grazing to avert further incursions by herders into farmlands.
Fausat Oyekunle is the Chairperson of Women in Agriculture in the state. She lamented the losses suffered by women farmers. According to her, most women farmers are poor and could not repay the loans they received under the Anchor Borrowers programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) after their farms were destroyed by herders.
The Secretary, Nigeria Cassava Growers Association, Balogun Olufemi, said many members of the association also suffered losses in attacks by herders. He said farmers in all the local government areas of the state were affected.
“In Abeoukuta South, six hectares were destroyed and 42 hectares were destroyed in Awowo Farm Estate,” he said. He said officials of the CBN were informed about the development as it concerns the loans involved but were helpless because the insurance policy they took does not cover destruction of farms by herders. But he said the insurance companies had promised to extend insurance cover to destruction of crops by herders.
The Chairman of AFAN in the state, Adelola Kushimo, highlighted the challenges farmers were facing in the state. She said many farmers have been killed by herders. She said some women and their daughters were raped in their farms and many heactares of crops destroyed. She said there was no hope that the crisis would come to an end soon.
Although the government set up a peace committee towards ending the crisis, farmers dismissed it as mere of politics, saying the attacks had been sustained in spite of it.
Herders count losses
Mr Ibrahim denies the allegations by farmers that herders were destroying farms and killing farmers in the state. He said there had been problems between farmers and herders, but the skirmishes have been deescalated. He said Fulani herders had only been defending themselves against attacks.
He said MACBAN has lost over 50 herders and over 500 cows in the last two years in the two local governments. He said last year, at the height of the Sunday Igboho issue, the problem was intense, leading to fear and deaths.
“We have much problem in one local government area and that is Yewa North. They killed many Fulani herdsmen there. This year, they killed six persons. Three persons are still missing till now. They killed over 500 cows,” he said.
“We don’t know why our people were attacked because cows did not eat the crops or destroy farmlands. When they see herdsmen they will attack them, they will kill the cows and kill the herdsmen too.
“They will not only kill the herders, they will also cut off either his head or other parts of his body and take away. We think that the group called Agbekoya were responsible for the killing of the herdsmen. When they attack our herdsmen and we send the police to arrest them, they will kill the police.”
Mr Ibrahim alleged that in cases where cattle were seized for grazing farms, they often pay compensations and most times farmers claim between N200,000 and N300,000 in a farm that does not have up to N100,000 crops.
Yusuf Muhammed is the Chairman of MACBAN in Yewa North. He surely has a lot to deal with, being at the epicenter of the clashes. He said in recent clashes that started in Iyana Agbede, Aworo, under Imeko, 1000 cows were slaughtered by residents of the area.
“On the 25th of February, 2022, they also attacked our herdsmen at Aiyetoro, in Orile. There they killed about 415 cows and we lost three persons there. These three persons are missing as we speak. We are yet to find them. We did not find their dead bodies,” he said.
“We reported the matter to the police station and immediately, the DPO and other police officers went to the scene, but they were also attacked by armed men who also killed one Inspector of Police. They also destroyed the vehicle they took there.”
But Mr Iweoba, who leads the farmers’ association in Aiyetoro, denied that farmers were involved in the killings in Aiyetoro. While he admitted that there were attacks on the herders, he said the assailants were not farmers.
“Some people came from outside the country and attacked Fulani cows, but leaders of the farmers were arrested and other people, but it was people from outside that did that,” Mr Iweoba said. “We don’t know anything about it. Four of our members are in Abuja now arrested. They don’t know anything about it and we don’t know what to do. They are not the ones who attacked the Fulani herdsmen.
“That very day, one of the farmers and police had a meeting. He was at the meeting that very day when that incident happened. A second person was in his office at the Federal Medical Centre in Abeokuta while the incident took place. Even the report is there that the man was on duty that day. So they don’t know anything about it. They just came and arrested them.”
The Serikin Fulani in Idofa, Muhammadu Jimoh, spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in their settlement in Idofa, Imeko Afon Local Government Area, and complained that although there had been calm in the areas where his people were herding cattle, they have been witnessing a series of attacks by farmers.
The Serikin, who spoke in Yoruba, said cows were still being attacked in the area despite efforts to make peace. According to him, a grazing path was marked out for herders, but some farmers have refused to adhere to that. “Even yesterday, a farmer still threw a machete at a cow and cut its neck, even when the cow did not enter into his farm in Idofa,” he said. He also complained about how farmers have refused to allow cattle access to water, creating serious problems for the herders during the dry season.
Traditional Rulers As First Responders
Leaders of farming communities are the first to confront the issues. They are crisis managers but when it overwhelms them, they call in the security agencies.
The Onidofa of Idofa, who spoke to our reporter in in his palace, said the issues had been largely caused by migrating Bororo herders, who came in from the North.
“Whenever we are approaching the dry season, we call the farmers and the herders and urge them to avoid trouble, but the Bororos whenever they come in create problems and approach the farmlands,” the traditional ruler said.
He, however, maintained that the situation had been largely managed through dialogue between the groups. Contrary to reports, the Onidofa said there were no clashes within Idofa land, noting that the clashes had been occurring in the neigbouring communities.
The Alawowo of Awowo, Abduljafar Tijani, also spoke of how he was grappling with the problem in his domain. He said he had to settle matters between herders and farmers regularly. Although he said there had not been recent loss of lives in the conflict, kidnapping by herders had come into play where people kidnapped had either died or were released after ransom was paid.
Open Grazing and A New Law
In keeping with the trend in South-west states, the Ogun State Government in September last year enacted a law to regulate animal grazing and ensure the establishment of cattle ranches in designated grazing areas of Ogun State. But instead of the law taking effect immediately, Governor Dapo Abiodun delayed the implementation by six months until March 31, 2022.
Yet, PREMIUM TIMES can report that as of the fist week of April, there was no sign or any herald of a new law banning open grazing. Herders are aware of the law but have treated it as a joke, especially as the government has not provided any agrazing areas or ranches.
The law stipulates a three-year jail term without an option of fine for anyone or group of persons who rear, herd or graze livestock in any part of the state, except within the permitted ranches.
Anybody or group of persons, who rears cattle or livestock outside the permitted ranches after the commencement of the law also risks forfeiting such livestock or herds of cattle under their control to government.
By the provisions of the law, the state government is expected to designate grazing areas or ranches where cattle breeders would confine their cattle. Such areas are expected to have government’s inputs that would encourage the herders to stay there.
Farmers are optimistic that the new law, if properly implemented, would go a long way to restrain the actors and ensure peace within the areas affected. The secretary of AFAN, Mr Ogunjimi, said the enforcement is expected to improve the security in the state.
“We are hoping that the state government will be proactive and implement the law holistically, so we can address the issue to a certain level,” he said. “The way out of this logjam is for the government to carve out a grazing area for the herders instead of allowing them to move around destroying farmlands.”
But the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in the state thinks the law does not protect the interests of cattle breeders in the state.
Abdulmumini Ibrahim is the state chairman of MACBAN in Ogun State. He told PREMIUM TIMES that the law contains provisions that would affect negatively the business of the herders.
“There will be problem. We don’t have land, we have no grazing reserve, how are we going to feed the cows?
“This new law is beyond us because we don’t know how the government intends to handle it,” he continued. “The problem is that when the government says it will do something, it will not do it. That is the problem.
“I don’t have any other business than cattle rearing. Our forefathers and brothers and mothers were involved in the business. We don’t have another business. If we don’t have land, where are we going to and what are we going to do?”
Mr Ibrahim, on the other hand, urged the state government to create a grazing area with water sources and farming areas so that there would be peace between herders and farmers. “But right now, there is no water, no land,” he added.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Adeola Odedina, is the head of the committee set up to draw up modalities for the implementation of the anti-open grazing law. He told PREMIUM TIMES that the law would help stakeholders resolve the issues.
He assured that the law will be implemented, but would not say from when, given that the period of grace had expired. “We will try and provide the enabling environment for farming to thrive and it is all-inclusive, including the things you have mentioned,” he said.
He said stakeholders would be enlightened on the new law, “so that they will know what to do and what not to do.”
What Security Agencies Are Doing
Farmers and herders complained that the police have not been proactive in attending to their complaints. But the police denied this. Police spokesperson in Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the police had developed a mediatory approach in resolving the matters, besides the deployment of community policing.
“We have also mandated all the Fulani leaders in every community to have a register so that whenever there are other herdsmen from other areas, they have to register them and know them so that if they use their cattle to graze somebody’s farm, they will be able to identify them and bring them to book,” he said.
He blamed the recurring crisis on transit herders who come in from the Republic of Benin and underage herders. He however said there were arrests made with respect to the killings alleged by the Fulani community and investigations were ongoing to unravel the culprits.
The Ogun State Security Network (Amotekun) has been involved in quelling the recent clashes. The Corps Commander, David Akinremi, a retired police commissioner, said although the anti-open grazing law was yet to be implemented, the corps was relying on the existing sections of the criminal law against malicious damage of property. He said once the six months grace period expires, the corps was prepared to commence enforcement of the law.
“For now we have been involved in mediation and reaching out to farmers and herders on the need to resolve issues peacefully,” he said. “We have encouraged farmers to form clusters and cooperatives and when they encounter armed herders they should call us.”
Farmers and other stakeholders are only hopeful that the new law banning open grazing would quench the inferno in Ogun State. As Mr Ogunjimi submitted, although cattle rearing is a private business, like other forms of farming, government needs to help herders to embrace the new form of livestock production at the initial stages. “If this is done, we will be able to find peace in the long run,” he said.
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