A Magistrate Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has convicted a herder, Dab Bello, for unlawfully grazing his cattle on private farmland and causing extensive damage to crops valued at N50 million.
The court handed down a combined 10-year sentence but gave the convict the option of freedom if he pays N20 million as compensation to the affected farmers.
Court convicts herders of conspiracy
The court found Bello guilty on five charges, including criminal conspiracy, unlawful grazing, destruction of farmland, breach of public peace, and trespass.
The case stemmed from an incident in 2023 when Bello led his herd into a farm owned by the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) in Owo Local Government Area, destroying palm seedlings and watermelon crops cultivated across two hectares.
Prosecutor P.O. Nwafor informed the court that the grazing activity was carried out without permission and on land not designated for livestock use under the Ondo State Livestock Rearing and Grazing Regulation Law of 2021.
According to the prosecution, the situation worsened the following day when herders returned and allegedly set the farmland ablaze.
Bello bags 10 years jail time
Magistrate Damilola Sekoni ruled that the prosecution provided clear and convincing evidence to establish the defendant’s guilt.
The court sentenced Bello to four years in prison on the first count without an option of a fine, two years with a N50,000 fine option on the second count, and one year each on the third and fourth counts. On the fifth count, Bello received a two-year sentence without a fine option.
Sekoni noted that the sentences would run concurrently but stated that Bello could avoid imprisonment if he compensates the farm owners with N20 million.
The judgment marks a significant application of the state’s anti-open grazing law and is expected to serve as a precedent in similar cases involving agricultural land encroachment and destruction.
Herdsmen storm cashew farm in Oyo
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a cashew plantation in Okegba village, along the Ogbomoso-Igbeti road in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, had been destroyed by suspected herders, leaving a local farming family devastated and calling for justice.
The incident, which occurred on Friday, April 11, involved a group of herders who reportedly entered the farmland and carried out widespread vandalism of cashew trees.
The damage included broken branches, cleared sections of the orchard, and uprooted trees, pointing to a deliberate act of destruction rather than a random occurrence.
The cashew plantation, which serves as a major source of livelihood for the family, was left in disarray, with visible signs of tampering and destruction scattered across the property.
Residents flee Kwara homes
In a similar development, Legit.ng reported that a deadly communal clash over a disputed cashew farm had left at least two people dead and several others injured in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The violent confrontation, which erupted on Friday between residents of Osi and Ẹpẹ-Opin communities, has forced many locals to flee their homes.
