Kwara Assembly Seeks To Revive Herder-farmer Committee

A farmer, Mr Solomon Dabuu has been reportedly killed by herdsmen in his farm in Ajelanwa, Asa local government area of Kwara State.

A member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Yinusa Oniboki broke the news  on the floor of the House during plenary.

This development has prompted the legislature to call for a reactivation of the Herder-Farmers Committee across the 16 local government areas of the state.

The lawmaker claimed that the farmer was killed during a confrontation with some herdsmen whose cows had eaten the deceased’s  crops in his farm in Ajelanwa.

Oniboki, had  relied on order VII, Rule 40 of the House Rules to draw the attention of his colleagues to the ugly incident that occurred in Ajelanwa, near Aboto Oja and the need to avert further escalation of the crisis.

He told the  House that, “it is on good account that a few days ago,some herdsmen drove their cattle to a farm in Ajelanwa to feed on the crops planted on the farm and unknown to them, the farmer, Mr. Solomon Dabuu who was somewhere close by was watching as the cattle were eating his crops. He was said to have come out to challenge the herders and this led to a fracas in the process of which the farmer  was brutally attacked with machete, and lost his life.”

He added that  the herders abandoned their cattle,  numbering about 40 and fled the scene of the incident.

Oniboki said that the perpetrators of the dastardly act had been arrested and have been detained  in police custody in Afon, the headquarters of Asa local government area.

In their resolutions, the legislators urged the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to direct the heads of all security agencies in the state to beef up security architecture around Ajelanwa-  Aboto Oja axis in Afon district of Asa local government area to prevent the crisis from escalating.

They  also directed the 16 local government areas in the state to resuscitate the Herder-farmers Committee so that it can continue its function of arbitration between the herdsmen and farmers.