By Steve Oko
UMUAHIA — A 53-year-old farmer, Mrs. Felicia Nwokonte, from Umuana Ndume in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, has lamented the destruction of her farmland and crops by cows allegedly belonging to herders.
Nwokonte, a mother of four, said her fenced farmland located near Obioma Quarters behind Timber Shed Market, Umuahia, was completely destroyed after herders allegedly broke the padlock on her gate and grazed their cattle on her farm.
“I could not recognize my farm again. All the cassava, yam, vegetables, and other crops I planted were eaten up by cows. They turned the farmland into a football pitch. It is like the Fulani boys rearing the cows are sleeping inside my farm,” she told Vanguard.
She described the incident as “cruelty and wickedness,” and appealed to the Abia State Government to intervene, noting that she was too afraid to confront the herders for fear of being attacked.
Efforts to get a reaction from the police were unsuccessful, as calls placed to the Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, and the Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, were not answered.
Despite the enactment of the anti-open grazing law in Abia State, residents say cows still graze openly with impunity, even in the state capital. Streets in Umuahia are often littered with cow droppings, while herders continue to roam at night despite government warnings.
The Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) had recently threatened to arrest cows found roaming, but the warning appears to have been ignored, as security agencies are accused of turning a blind eye to the menace.
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