Business
Herdsmen Activities: Jurist Laments Imminent Food Scarcity
Following reports of attacks and killings of farmers in the North Central zone of Nigeria, particularly in Benue and Tababa States by Fulani herdsmen, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice F.S Tabian has raised alarm that such killings and attacks would result to food scarcity in the country.
Tabian who made this known in an interview with airport correspondents at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, recently noted that farmers would be unwilling to risk their lives farming since no serious efforts had been made yet by the federal government, to stop or control the menace.
He said, to the best of his knowledge, that no arrest had been made, and that the herdsmen appear to have immunity on their activities since none of them had been arrested or brought to justice.
According to the retired jurist, some of the farmers are people who have retired from government services, and have not been paid their gratuities and other benefits.
“The food security we are talking about in this country might be endangered, not because of any other thing, but the security situation. To me, it is one of the greatest challenges to farmers.
“The weather is good, we have rainfall, but the farmers are afraid because of the herdsmen operations against them and they would not like to risk their lives.
“I remember we have one of the best species of yam, which we call “Gboko Yam” in Benue, but right now in the market that yam is scarce, because many of them did not farm.
“Then you can imagine now that the killing has intensified, what the next harvest season will look like, which point to the fact that there might be scarcity.
“You cannot do extensive farming in the comfort of your home or in your compound, but you have to go all out to the bush, and the Fulani herdsmen are out therein the bush to kill.
“Many of the retirees who have not been paid pension, gratuity and other entitlements, have engaged in farming, but they cannot risk their lives just because they want to farm”, Tabian said.
The retired Supreme Court Judge however, blamed the non development of the agricultural sector to dependence on oil revenue, saying that government has not taken agricultural developement seriously, because of the oil revenue it gets.
Corlins Walter
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
