Fear of kidnapping and violent attacks is forcing farmers out of their fields in parts of South-West Nigeria, raising fears over food production as four Amotekun operatives were killed in an ambush in Ondo State.
The Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, said insecurity had become a serious threat to farming and food security in the region and could affect food supplies across Nigeria if the situation was not brought under control.
The warning came as the four personnel of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun Corps, died after bandits attacked them at Ago-Oyinbo farm settlement in Akure North Local Government Area.
The operatives were travelling from their base when they came under attack. Sources said a gun battle lasted for several minutes before the attackers fled into the bush.
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Afenifere said the killings and kidnappings affecting farmers were leaving many people afraid to work on their farms.
The group listed several cases, including the killing of a female farmer in Ondo, the kidnapping of 33-year-old poultry farmer Ooreoluwa Osonuga in Ikenne, Ogun State, and the killing of four farmers in Okeogun, Oyo State.
It also cited the abduction of Debo Farounbi in Ora, Osun State. Afenifere said Farounbi had not been released even after N30 million was reportedly paid, with his abductors demanding more money and motorcycles.
Farming hit by fear
Afenifere said many other cases across Yorubaland and elsewhere in Nigeria had not received public notice.
The group pointed to information released in June by the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, which said repeated attacks and abductions in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states had discouraged people from putting money into agriculture.
Farmers, farm workers and agribusiness investors have been affected, with many farming families losing their means of livelihood.
Afenifere said many farmers now stayed away from their land because they feared kidnapping, ransom demands and attacks.
The group also referred to an earlier Guardian report that banditry and attacks involving herders had cut agricultural activity in some parts of Yorubaland by about 40 per cent.
During visits to Okeogun and parts of northern Oyo and Ondo states, Afenifere said residents gave three major reasons for leaving their farms.
The first was fear of kidnapping. The second was low prices received by farmers because middlemen and women stood between them and direct buyers. The third was grazing on farmlands by herders.
Afenifere also cited Mallam Shitu Kabir, President of the Cowpea and Beans Farmers Association of Nigeria and Vice President of the Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association, who said production of those crops had fallen by almost 70 per cent in the North.
The organisation said reports by bodies such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Bank had also shown how insecurity was changing farming practices in different regions.
It warned that continued violence could raise the risk of hunger in the coming months.
Security demands grow
Afenifere praised President Bola Tinubu for directing the preparation of a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan within 90 days.
It also commended security agencies for the rescue of abducted students and teachers in Oyo and Borno states and asked them to rescue other people still being held.
The group recommended tougher military action against bandits, tighter border control, better community policing and closer cooperation among communities, security agencies and public authorities.
It also asked South-West governors to establish state police and improve the Amotekun Corps with more personnel, communication equipment, vehicles and surveillance drones.
The governors were also asked to enforce anti-open grazing laws, create ranger units for forest patrols and bring local hunters and vigilante groups into security information networks.
Afenifere further recommended modern ranching and tougher punishment for people found guilty of banditry.
After the Ondo attack, Amotekun spokesman John Adenekan said reinforcements were sent to the area and joint security teams began searching for the attackers.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa mourned the dead operatives and called them heroes who died while serving the state.
The corps said it had increased patrols and intelligence gathering in affected communities and appealed to residents to provide useful information to security agencies.
Traditional rulers from the South-West were also scheduled to meet in Ijero Ekiti to discuss regional security with Yoruba nation activist and Iru Ekun Security Network founder, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.
The meeting, hosted by the Owa Ajero of Ijero Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole, was expected to examine rural security and cooperation with local security groups across the region.
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