Herdsmen arrested for attacking farmer

Some Fulani herdsmen were arrested in
Aboriso village, Iseyin, Oyo State, for
allegedly inflicting injury on a farmer named
Fatai Alimi after a disagreement over
grazing on a commercial farmland
belonging to Alimi and his sibling.
Brother of the injured farmer, Muibi Azeez,
said the herdsmen led a large herd of cattle
to the farm, which caused the destruction of
crops.
He said a heated exchange ensued as Alimi
challenged the herdsmen. He added that the
herdsmen responded violently, and later
attacked them.
Azeez said, "They came to our farm with
their cattle and destroyed our crops. There
was a disagreement and, in the process, my
brother was seriously injured. I escaped
from the scene to alert the villagers and the
police."
Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State
Police Command, Olabisi Ilobanafo, told our
correspondent that the command was
desirous of putting an end to frequent
clashes between farmers and herdsmen in
the state.
She said the Commissioner of Police,
Mohammed Indabawa, had made efforts to
restore peace between the herdsmen and
the host community.
She said, "The clash is not peculiar to Oyo
State, it is a national issue. The
Commissioner of Police has called for
another meeting to prevent break down of
law and order in the affected area.
"We have told the farmers not to take laws
into their own hands. If they use locally
made guns to attack the herdsmen and in
the process lives are lost, they will be
arrested and charged to court for greater
offence than the damage to their farms."