Farmer cries out after Lagos land grabbers destroyed his poultry

Ezenwa Ikenna, a Lagos-based farmer, has cried out, lamenting how some hoodlums suspected to be land grabbers stormed his poultry farm located in the FESTAC area of Lagos State, and destroyed his facilities.

Ikenna recalled that the machete-wielding assailants stormed his poultry located at Sixth Avenue, FESTAC town, on Sunday, injured him and smashed the glasses in his farmhouse.

Ikenna, who sustained an injury on his head, stated that some of his farm workers were also injured during the invasion, adding that birds in his poultry were killed.

His words: “My uncle got the land from the Federal Housing Authority. But because he was not ready to start working on the land, the land grabbers started showing interest in the land.

“I started large-scale farming last year with various kinds of animals on the land while I secured the services of guards to watch over the land and the poultry as well after fencing the entire property.

“I was always visiting the place until I had accommodation issues at my former place. I was advised to erect an apartment on the land so that I would have enough time to monitor the property myself. So, I erected an apartment on the property. After paying some money and pleading with the land grabbers in the area, we did not witness any disturbance for over a year.

“On April 24, 2023, one of their guys came into my compound asking me to come outside. I told him I would not follow him since I didn’t know him. I wanted to call the police that there was an intruder in my house. Before I could do that, they had rushed into my compound, broken the glasses, and dragged me on the floor into the drainage in front of the house. They were numbering about 50. I wanted to scale the fence to run away, but I was caught midway.”

Ikenna further accused the police of intimidation.

Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin said the state command was working on how to settle the matter amicably, adding that all parties involved in the matter had been invited to a parley on Monday (today).