Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the burning of his 2,420 hectares of farmland at Howe in Aliade area of Gwer East Local Government of Benue State, at the weekend.
The 84-year-old and also former military leader described the incident as a bad development, noting that the arsonists will be fished out by security agents.
Arsonists had burnt the Orchard Farm belonging to the strong man of Hilltop in Abeokuta on Saturday.
The ex-president had acquired about 2,420 hectares of farmland in the community, where he planted fruits such as mango and orange.
Some indigenes, who claimed they were not compensated for the land, had allegedly set the farm on fire, beat up and robbed the firefighters deployed in the area to put out the fire.
Reacting in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Tuesday, Obasanjo said “the local and state governments, including the security agencies in the state, have taken up the issue, with a view to fishing out the perpetrators and prosecution”.
The statement was titled, ‘Obasanjo condemns burning of farm in Benue.’
The former President thanked those who had called him to identify with him on the incident.
The Punch
