Falae’s Oil Palm Plantation Farm Set Ablaze, Perpetrators Suspected Herdsmen

 
The end of the conflict between farmers and herders of cattle in the country was nowhere in sight at the weekend, as men suspected to be herdsmen yesterday set ablaze the farm of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Chief Olu Falae.

Falae’s farm is located in Ilado community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The chief security officer (CSO) to the former SGF, Captain Moshood Raji, who confirmed the incident, said he (Raji) was notified of the incident by a policeman who was guarding the farm.

He said the incident happened around 4:00 pm.

Raji said the razed farm was an oil palm plantation but which also had cassava and yam produce.

At the time of this report, the CSO, who is a retired army captain, said he and some other people were on the way to the farm to assess the damage.

He said no one was attacked, as workers were not on the farm, being a Sunday.

When the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Ondo State command, Mr. Femi Joseph was contacted, he confirmed the incident, that men of the command led by an area commander were already on the farm to investigate the cause of the fire.

Joseph said it was unfortunate that men of the fire service said they had no equipment to curtail the blaze.

Joseph, who said he could not confirm those who committed the act, added that investigations had commenced to unravel the cause of the incident.

In his reaction, Falae described the attack on his farm as deliberate and malicious.

He said the perpetrators had turned it into a yearly affair to attack his farm.

The farm of the former SGF and one-time presidential candidate of the defunct All Progressives Party (APP) in the 1999 election, has been attacked several times by herdsmen, who two years ago went as far as kidnapping him and holding him hostage for about five days.

Falae only secured his release from the kidnappers after an undisclosed amount of money was paid to his assailants.

The suspected kidnappers were eventually apprehended and are facing prosecution. Source: ThisDay Newspaper