There was pandemonium in the Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State on Tuesday as some herdsmen chased workers of the council out of their offices.
It was gathered that the attack by the herdsmen followed a disagreement with some of the council workers over a vegetable garden at the back of the secretariat.
Some of the workers stated that the fight ensued between an agriculture officer of the council, identified as Mr. Johnson Simon, and one of the herdsmen, whose cattle allegedly destroyed part of the vegetable garden.
Simeon was allegedly injured with a machete by the herdsmen, while one of the herdsmen was also injured during the fight.
It was learnt that shortly after the fight, the herdsmen mobilised their colleagues and attacked the secretariat, armed with machetes and other weapons.
It took the intervention of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Gbenga Adeyanju, and the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Pedro Ideba, who deployed their men in the council, to bring the situation under control.
CP Adeyanju, who visited the scene, told one of our correspondents that the incident was as a result of a disagreement between some workers and the herdsmen.
He said, “The matter will be settled; it was not a serious matter and we are on the ground to ensure that normalcy returns; that is what we are doing.”
The Caretaker Chairman of the LGA, Margaret Atere, said, “What happened here today (Tuesday) has been happening in other areas. The animals ate the vegetables on the farm and that was what caused the problem.
The council prevented it from becoming a full-blown crisis. We have started making peace moves.”
Herdsmen burn 120-acre farms at Osun farm settlement.
Some Fulani herdsmen have stormed the Osun State Government Farm Settlement located at Esa Oke and burnt down about 120 acres of plantain, oil palm trees, mango trees and other economic trees planted there by farmers.
They lamented that the destruction which they valued at over N100m was a huge setback for them, adding that the herdsmen wanted to force farmers out of the land.
The Commissioner for Special Duties in Osun State, Mr. Oguntola Toogun, who is the head of a committee set up by the Osun State Government to resolve the crisis between farmers and herdsmen, said he was not aware of the destruction when contacted by one of our correspondents.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, also said the police were not aware of the incident.
However, the Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Information, Mr. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, who represents Obokun Constituency at the assembly confirmed the incident.
Oyintiloye said, “The development is upsetting, not only because it affects a government farm settlement but because it reflects the painful dilemma of farmers in Nigeria.”