A herd of at least 60 cattle was abandoned by the herders on a private farm at Ohokobe Afara-Ukwu Community in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State on Monday morning.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the cattle invaded the farm in the early hours of the morning and destroyed the crops inside a two-plot, undeveloped land. The land has a perimeter fence but no gate.
It was learnt that the yet-to-be-identified herders abandoned the cattle and fled the area after residents of the community were alerted, mobilised, and gathered near the farm.
The residents, mainly youths, some clutching machetes, along with a few elders, were seen discussing the incident and its security implications for the community.
Narrating the incident to NAN, the owner of the farm and immediate past Youth President of the community, Chinedu Nwoko, said that the ugly development jolted him.
Mr Nwoko said, “At about 6.02a.m., a neighbour alerted me that herders led their cattle and invaded my farm.
“Then I ran down to the place and saw the cattle grazing on my crops.
“As you can see, they have destroyed all my crops, but the herders are nowhere to be found.”
He said that he cultivated yams, water yams, cassava, vegetables, okra, and maize, among other crops.
“When you cost the extent of the loss, it will not be less than N5 million,” Mr Nwoko said.
He said that he had reported the incident to a nearby police division. He appealed to the Abia State Government to take necessary steps to remedy the situation and arrest open grazing in the capital city.
“This invasion is not the first, neither is it the second, third nor fourth. It has been happening repeatedly every new farming season, and they would destroy our crops and walk away.
“But the difference about what happened today is that we caught them red-handed,” Mr Nwoko said.
Youth leader challenges Abia government
Reacting to the incident, the current Youth President of the community, Ifeanyi Nwosu, said it was an “ugly development”.
Mr Nwosu expressed concern over the extent of destruction, saying, “Though this has been happening before, this one is of greater magnitude”.
He regretted that herders had continued to invade people’s farms in the community, despite the state’s Anti-Open Grazing Act.
He challenged the Abia State Government and relevant security agencies to ensure effective implementation of the law to end open grazing and its consequences in Umuahia.
“This area is an urban community. So, it is worrisome that this should be happening here,” Mr Nwosu said.
He said that the Ibeku Egwuasa socio-cultural organisation openly condemned the incident and initiated talks with the leadership of Miyetti Allah in the state to de-escalate the matter.
He said that the owners of the cattle had also decried the incident, adding that it did not authorise cattle grazing in the community, since they had designated grazing areas.
A community leader, Jerry Mbonu, described the incident as alarming, saying that it was inconceivable that cattle could destroy a farm in such a residential community.
“It is unacceptable that such an invasion could happen here, more so, in a fully cultivated farm, where the crops are expected to mature for harvesting in a few weeks,” Mr Mbonu said.
The people said that the development threatened the security of lives and property in the area and underscored the need for greater security measures.
Mr Mbonu said that arrangements to constitute a local vigilance group by the community with full police approval had reached an advanced stage.