Controversy Trails Arrest Of Farm Cluster Chairman Over N3.4bn Funds

Amid controversy over the arrest and detention of the chairman of Shikanfa Cluster Farms, Mallam Idris Usman Makanta, Niger Food chairman Sammy Adigun said it was in connection with a N3.4 billion released to Shikanfa Cluster Farms in 2024 without recovery and not politically motivated.

LEADERSHIP findings revealed that Malam Idris Usman Makanta has been in police custody for over a week following a petition from Niger Food over the recovery of the amount disbursed for 2024 wet and dry season farming.

It was learnt that the chairman of Shikanfa cluster had gone to a federal high court Minna  to challenge his continued incarceration and was granted interim order for the police to release him for the substantive case to be determined but he was not released.

Explaining  the  reason for the arrest of Malam Idris who was a governorship aspirant in Niger State in 2023,  Adigun debunked allegations that the arrest was politically motivated, describing such allegations as false, misleading, and deliberately intended to distract the public from the real issues.

He said Niger Foods Company Limited has disbursed N3.4 billion to Shikanfa cluster under the leadership of Malam Idris but only N25 million, representing just 0.74% of the total amount, has been recovered from the Shinkafa Cluster, despite the guarantor’s written commitment to complete repayment.

He said the arrest of Idris  originated from a breach of agreement under the Niger Foods Input Financing Programme, a scheme designed to support genuine small holder farmers across Niger State through transparent and bank-verified input financing.

Adigun said the programme operated on a cooperative-based model where farmer clusters or cooperatives are solely guaranteed by their executives or cluster heads, not by the government or politicians.

The Niger Food chairman disclosed that the Shinkafa Cluster, under the leadership of Mallam Idris Usman Makanta (popularly known as Shinkafan Nupe), benefited from the programme during 2024  wet and dry seasons.

He said, “All farms were mapped, coordinates recorded, and three critical documents were duly signed by Makanta, a Farming Framework Agreement, a Global Standing Instruction (GSI), and a Letter of Guarantee in which he personally undertook to ensure 100% recovery in case of default”.

Adigun said following persistent reports, Niger Foods petitioned the Niger State Police Command to investigate whether the inputs were used for their intended purpose, stressing that the guarantor was contractually responsible for ensuring compliance.

He  reiterated commitment to supporting small holder farmers and maintaining accountability within the agricultural sector through the input financing programme.