Farmers in Gerald Village, Ìjèbú Ode, Ogun State, have suffered significant losses after hoodlums invaded their community, attacking them violently, setting their homes on fire, and ravaging their plantations.
The attacks reportedly began after the farmers refused to participate in an oath-taking organized by the village head, Chief Abiodun Akinbowale.
One of the injured farmers, Talabi Daniel, who sustained a machete wound to his head, recounted the ordeal. “The day they came to attack me at home, it was about 10 p.m. I was sitting in front of my compound. They lied that they were policemen and that I was under arrest. I was surprised because I hadn’t committed any offence. So, I asked for their identification number and arrest warrant,” Daniel said.
Daniel added, “They started beating and stabbing me as soon as I attempted to use my phone to record them. They hit my forehead with some weapons. They took away my phone. It was my screaming that alerted other villagers, who then came to my rescue. There were about nine of them. My only offence was refusing to be forced to take an oath.”
Another farmer, 65-year-old Kehinde Akinolu, described how his house was set ablaze and his family was forced to flee. Akinolu said, “They seized our motorcycles that we used to ride to the farm. This Baale refused to release them. He brought the caterpillar to the village. The people he sent to torment us were the ones who cut down our cocoa plantation—about three acres of plantation.
“We decided then to move to a nearby church for the time being. These same people stormed the church, threatening us to move out of it. They said our offence was because we refused to obey the Baale. How can he force us to take an oath when we have not done anything?”
Anthony Michael, another affected farmer, appealed for government intervention. “We didn’t do anything wrong. Two villagers had a quarrel over some money the people contributed. They accused each other of mismanaging community money. One of them mentioned the name of the Baale as also being responsible for the missing money,” Michael said.
Michael explained, “And then a few days later, he called us for a meeting, where he settled the matter between the two men. After that, he told us to wait for him, and he returned with a calabash that was filled with water, forcing us to drink the water. And some of us said if anyone should take the water or the oath, it had to be those fighting, not those of us who know nothing about it.”
In response, Chief Abiodun Akinbowale denied the allegations, claiming he was not involved in the attacks. “I am not involved. Go and ask the king and the commissioner. The governor is already aware of this matter. I don’t know what is between them. I was only trying to settle the matter before they decided to fight me. I cannot talk about the oath-taking because I don’t know what is between them and the king. It is the government that demolished their house, not me,” Akinbowale said.
Akinbowale also suggested that the conflict was a matter between the farmers and the state government, which had instructed them to vacate the farm. “If you’re calling me from PUNCH, before anything, you will have to go to the Ministry of Forestry Reserve in Abeokuta. It is the governor who put the commissioner in charge. The governor announced it on the radio. I don’t know about their farm,” he added.