Farmers Raise Alarm Over Theft Of Crops

Fleeing farmers from
Aminigboko community in the Abua/Odual local government area of Rivers State, have raised  alarm over the continued plundering of their crops by yet to be identified thieves.
It could be recalled that the community was sacked last December when unknown gun men attacked and killed several people on Christmas day.
The community which is predominantly farmers have ever since fled their homes only to come once in a while to make harvests of their crops.
Unfortunately for them, their crops which include plantain, cassava and domestic animals amongst others have been tampered with.
Most of them who spoke to our correspondent from their refuge camps said they were surprised at the magnitude of theft on their farms.
Investigations by The Tide indicate that policemen have been drafted to the community to restore order, but the presence of the police has not helped matters, according to some of the fleeing people spoken to.
According to them, the thefts increase as soon as the police came to the scene even as they doubted the sincerity of their function in the community.
They further expressed their displeasures with the police as they were drafted from the police command from Abua which they accused of complacency at the height of the crises in the community.
However, one of the policemen who spoke under the condition of anonymity absolved the police in any unwholesome acts since their arrival in the community.
Efforts to speak with the chairman of the Local Government Area, Hon Udi Odum and the paramount ruler of Emughan Clan, HRH Thankyou Obagana before going to press was not successful.

L-R: National President, Fish Dealers Association of Nigeria, Alhaja Oyenike Atoyebi, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and former Director of Fishery, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Godwin Shimang, at the stakeholders’ meeting on repositioning the fisheries sub-sector in Abuja, yestersday