Beneku community petitions Delta govt, police over herders’ invasion of farmlands

Indigenes of Beneku community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State have expressed concern over the persistent destruction of their farmlands and crops allegedly by Fulani herdsmen.

Stakeholders in the community warned that urgent interventions by the government and police are needed to avert a breakdown of law and order in the area.

In a petition dated September 28, addressed to the state governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, the Livestock Management Committee Interventionist Agency and the Commissioner of Police in the state, the indigenes alleged that despite repeated appeals and warnings to comply with a court judgment and an agreement to vacate the Beneku domain, the herders have continued to graze on and destroy their crops.

Signed by the Okpala Uku of the community, Ajuwa Oyemike; High Chief Samson Enene; Mr. Onwubolu Edike, the secretary; and other community leaders, the petition expressed concern over the herders’ refusal to vacate the community’s forests, based on the Ashaka Magistrate Court judgment and the agreement reached between the community and the herders on March 12, 2024.

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The stakeholders claimed that, as of the time of writing this report, the herders had refused to vacate Beneku farmlands. They added that agrarian and subsistence farmers had suffered significant losses due to the alleged deliberate destruction of their crops, plunging them into poverty and causing untold hardship.

“As peace-loving and law-abiding citizens of the state and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Beneku indigenes pleaded with the state governor, the Commissioner of Police, and other relevant authorities to prevail upon the herders to vacate their lands to avoid a crisis that could lead to a breach of public peace, security, and order, thereby undermining the peace and security efforts of the government and the police force.

“For this reason, we, the indigenes of Beneku community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area, unanimously resolved, during our general meeting on September 17, that the Fulani herdsmen should honour the consent judgment and our agreement with them to vacate our domain, particularly our bushes, in order to avert the looming crisis that could lead to a breach of peace, security, and order in society.

“Up till now, they continue to invade our farms, graze on our lands, and destroy our farmlands and crops, while threatening to rape our women and kill anyone who confronts them,” the community stated.