Gyang Bere, Jos
Suspected Fulani herdsmen have grazed freely into a 70 hecters palliative farmland cultivated to help Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Rotsu village of Miango District in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
It was gathered that over 300 cows invaded the farmland on Thursday evening and destroyed maize, guinea corn and soya beans cultivated by Miango Youth Development Association, Plateau State to assist the villagers who were displaced by herdsmen.
Secretary General of Miago Youth Development Association, Mr. Gani Emmanuel described the incident as an attempt to throw the entire Bassa Local Government Area into acute hunger in 2021.
He said residents of Rotsu who were displaced in 2017 are currently living in pains and anguish with relations but when the youths mobilised themselves to cultivate the farm to assist the people, Fulani bandits grazed mercilessly into the crops.
“What prompted us to cultivate the 70 hectres of land is to support the displaced persons, you can see destroyed buildings here, there are people that were residing here but left to other communities due to attacks.
“We took the initiative, tagged palliative farmland to support the displaced persons but it is unfortunate that four days after we weed the farmland and applied over 30 bags of fertilizer, Fulani bandits came in the afternoon of Thursday 16 July and grazed over the whole land.
“We have invested over N500,000 in cultivating the land and expecting crops of over N100 million but all was destroyed in one day.”
Rivi Samson, the Assistant Secretary and John Bulus, the Financial Secretary called on Federal Government to intervene and help the Displaced persons who are wallowing in anguish without food and roof over their heads.
Mathew Kutus, a farmer from the community lamented that since the community was displaced and 20 persons perished in 2017, government has not assisted them in anyway.