By Oluseye Ojo
Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere has raised the alarm over escalating attacks, abductions, and killings targeting farmers across the South-West, warning that unchecked violence threatens regional food security and local livelihoods.
The organisation listed several recent incidents, including the murder of a female farmer in Ondo State, the abduction of 33-year-old poultry farmer, Ooreoluwa Osonuga in Ogun State, the killing of four farmers in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, and the kidnapping of Debo Farounbi in Osun State.
Farounbi, who was taken captive on June 9, 2026, still remains in custody of his abductors despite his family paying a ₦30million ransom.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, Afenifere noted that the cases represent only a fraction of widespread, unreported violence across Yorubaland.
Ajayi, who cited the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), warned that constant security threats and extortion are forcing agricultural investors and families to abandon their farmlands.
According to him, field reports from Oyo and Ondo states revealed three primary drivers behind farm abandonment, which are kidnapping threats, market exploitation by middlemen (Onibaranda), and unchecked farmland destruction by herders.
A prominent farmer in Ondo State, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, disclosed that insecurity forced him to abandon his 10-hectare cassava, cocoa, and plantain farm.
The crisis, he stated, reflected broader national agricultural disruptions, with northern cowpea and bean production dropping by nearly 70 per cent.
Former chairman of Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association, Olugbenga Obaweya, warned that continued farm desertion would drive up food prices, spike unemployment, and deepen poverty.
Afenifere commended President Bola Tinubu’s directive to establish a 90-day National Threat Assessment and a five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan.
In a bid to secure the South-West, the organisation urged the six governors in the zone to equip the Amotekun Corps with surveillance drones and modern gear, strictly enforce anti-open grazing laws, establish specialised forest ranger units, and integrate local hunters into security networks.
(The Sun)
