Abia Farmer Decries Farmland Destruction as Herders’ Cows Invade Crops

A 53-year-old farmer, Mrs. Felicia Nwokonte, from Umuana Ndume in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, has raised alarm over the destruction of her farmland and crops by cattle allegedly owned by herders.

Nwokonte, a mother of four, said her fenced farmland, located near Obioma Quarters behind Timber Shed Market, Umuahia, was completely devastated after herders allegedly broke the padlock on her gate and allowed their cows to graze freely.

“I could not recognize my farm again. All the cassava, yam, vegetables, and other crops I planted were eaten up by cows. They turned the farmland into a football pitch. It is like the Fulani boys rearing the cows are sleeping inside my farm,” she lamented in an interview with Vanguard.

Describing the incident as “cruelty and wickedness,” the farmer appealed to the Abia State Government for urgent intervention, stressing that she was too afraid to confront the herders directly for fear of attack.

Efforts to obtain comments from the police were unsuccessful, as calls to the Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, and the Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, went unanswered.

Despite the anti-open grazing law in Abia State, residents complain that cows still roam and graze openly, even in Umuahia, the state capital. Streets are often littered with cow droppings, while herders are said to move freely at night despite repeated government warnings.

The Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) recently threatened to arrest stray cows, but the directive appears to have been ignored, as security agencies face accusations of neglecting the issue.

Opinion Nigeria News