3 months ago
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Federal High Court, Abuja
The Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the Nasarawa State government and security agencies from further arresting Tiv farmers in the state’s Obi and Awe Local Government Areas, over a disputed 10,000 hectares of land allegedly belonging to nine communities in the area.
The Nasarawa State government had mapped out the land in the Agwatashi and Jangwa areas in the two LGAs for a proposed agriculture programme where rice, sesame and corn would be planted to boost food security in the state.
The government also revealed that work had started on portions of the 10,000 hectares of land, as part of the Federal Government’s food security initiatives.
However, the decision was resisted by the Tiv farmers in the nine communities of the two LGs, who claimed they were confused as to how the state government acquired the land to commence the agriculture programme in the area.
While narrating that the said 10,000 hectares of land comprised 6,000 hectares under Obi LG and 4,000 hectares under Awe LG, the residents said as farmers, they may not be able to survive the harsh economic realities of the country if their farmlands were taken away from them.
The resistance had led to several arrests of prominent members of the communities.
During the ruling delivered by Justice Peter Lifu in response to a fundamental rights motion ex parte, marked FHC/CS/ABJ/1044/2024, filed by Sambo Vongjen Esq on behalf of his client, Felix Upav, who is the representative of the affected communities, the court asked the state government and security agencies to allow for the conclusion of the matter before using any form of force on the people concerning the disputed land.
The PUNCH reports that the Nigerian Army, the Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, the Nasarawa State command, the Governor of Nasarawa State, and the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Agriculture were listed as respondents in the matter.
Reacting to the ruling on Wednesday, Upav expressed dismay that the government desired to forcefully acquire his farmlands and that of the nine Tiv communities, totalling about 10,000 hectares in the Obi and Awe LGs.
He said members of the communities released a communique on May 24, 2024, after meeting with Governor Abdullahi Sule, detailing how the agricultural initiative would adversely affect them.
He said the government’s action was intended to displace him and other Tiv farmers without remedy.
“The residents of the nine communities are mainly peasant farmers who rely solely on these 10,000 hectares of land.
“I am worried because if our farmlands are taken away from us, we may not be able to survive the harsh economic realities of the country.
“Apart from the series of arrests and intimidations from the security agencies, we (Tiv farmers) had planted rice and other crops on the land which had started growing.
“Suddenly, some people went there with tractors and started turning over our farms.
“We are peace-loving people and law-abiding citizens of the country, but because the 10,000 hectares of land is our only means of livelihood, we are appealing that the agricultural programme should be done somewhere else,” he added.
Sule, while justifying why the government took over the land, claimed that it was acquired to support the Federal Government’s plan for food security in the state and Nigeria at large.
He appealed to the residents of the area to support the initiative and warned against encroachment.
