Land Grabbers: Osun Farmers Protest, appeal to Governor, Oni

 

Over 3,000 farmers from the  farm settlement in Araromi-Oke-odo, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State, staged a peaceful protest in Osogbo, calling for urgent government intervention over land grabbing, recurring attacks, and insecurity threatening their livelihoods.

The protesters, carrying placards with various inscriptions, accused land grabbers and herders of invading their farmlands, preventing them from carrying out farming activities and subjecting them to harassment, intimidation, and violence.

According to the farmers, the continued attacks have become a recurring challenge, with hoodlums allegedly destroying cultivated crops, stealing farming tools and implements, assaulting and molesting farmers, and threatening their lives whenever they attempt to work on their farms.

They warned that the persistent insecurity poses a serious threat to the forthcoming planting season and could negatively affect food production in the state if urgent action is not taken.

The farmers appealed to the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, to intervene and permanently resolve the crisis.

"We have come to plead with the Governor of Osun State to look into this matter and settle it once and for all to attain lasting peace in the F3 Farm Settlement.

They also called on the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, to intervene by calling to order those allegedly responsible for the disturbances and their backers in order to restore peace to the farming community.

The farmers urged the Osun State Government to provide modern farming equipment to support agricultural activities, noting that improved access to mechanised farming tools would significantly increase productivity and enhance food security.