Cattle Farmer Accuses Govt Officials of Midnight Invasion in Oyo

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

A cattle farmer, Mohamned Abubakar, has accused officials of the Oyo State Government of invading his farm and carting away six of his cattle at his Ilaju cattle farm settlement on Eruwa road in Ido Local Government Area of the state.

Abubakar, while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, said the government officials invaded his farm around 4 a.m. last Thursday, stating that they destroyed his home while preparing for Ramadan fast.

 According to him, one of the cows was killed, adding that the matter was reported at the Ido Police Station.

He said: “That Thursday midnight, after we had left our farm, it was during sahur that they came in a convoy to raid our cattle farm, around 4:00 a.m. They killed one of my cows and took six away. We went to the Ido Police Station to lodge a report. Our place is at Ilaju along Eruwa road.

“As we were coming with the police to the cattle farm, we met the officials on the road, and the leader of the team identified himself as a Police Officer. He told us that we should come to the state Secretariat, and they have been doing this against us for a long time.

“For instance, if they took away our cow worth N10 million, they would ask us to pay N20 million to reclaim it. 

We did not graze on anybody’s farm. And they usually come in the dead of the night, and we cannot go to their office because they will detain us.”

 The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, while confirming the development, said the operation at the farm was official, stating that the state government accused the cattle herder of open grazing.

He disclosed further that officials of the state Law Enforcement Authority carried out the raid in conjunction with men of the state Ministry of Environment.