By Adadainfo
A farmer who identified himself as Joshua Ede says there is apprehension among farmers at Ukehe, Igbo-Etiti local government area of Enugu State following the reappearance of herders with their cows.
According to him, some months ago, the herders relocated to the North following the order by the Eastern Security Network of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
He said, “The ESN told the herders to leave South East. It paid off. Most of us returned to the farm, and by the time we are about to harvest, they are back. I see them pass here on a daily basis, and I don’t know where they are going.
“Governments at all levels say we should return to farming, but there is no protection. I am afraid to even go to my farm let alone allow my wife and children to go.”
Recall that the herders, last week, invaded Agu-Ekwegbe community in the same LGA and allegedly destroyed farmlands’ said to worth over N50m. The owner, John Abonyi, claimed that the herders ‘now graze their cattle’ on his land.
According to him, “The major challenge farmers face in the South East is herdsmen. They invaded my farm three times recently.
“I reported to the police and other security agencies, but they didn’t come to our rescue. After applying fertilisers, they came and destroyed everything in the farm where I planted maize and beans.
“I called Area Command 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. The caller said he is the chairman of Fulani herdsmen in Nsukka. I asked him to come and see what his boys did in my farm, but he said I should come to the police station.
“While we were tackling this, the herders came back again, and grazed inside my farm. I have suffered.
“I invested more than N50 million there. I left the North because of Boko Haram, and came back home to do my business. Look at what I have been subjected to by Fulani herders. Where will I run to now?”
