Oyo govt arrests herder over suspected farmland invasion in Iseyin

By Adejayan Gbenga –

The Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority (OYRLEA) has confirmed the arrest of a herder and the seizure of several rams for allegedly grazing on a 5.4-acre cassava farmland at the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority land in Nikko, Iseyin.

The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Opeyemi Ogunniyi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Ibadan over the weekend, following complaints from affected farmers in the area.

According to the statement, the enforcement team—led by retired Deputy Commissioner of Police Ojomo, who chairs the State Environmental Task Force, and Mrs. I.E. Akinbode, Chief of Staff to the Authority’s Chairperson—responded to a distress call on Friday and moved to the scene along the Iseyin-Oyo Road.

Upon arrival, most of the herders reportedly fled, giving signals to the animals which scattered into nearby bushes. However, the team managed to apprehend one herder, identified as Alhaji Amosa, and seized several rams.

Amosa is currently facing prosecution for trespassing and for violating Oyo State’s anti-open grazing law. The confiscated livestock have been transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture for safekeeping.

Farmers at the site expressed relief over the government’s swift intervention. AbdulRazak Akadi, Secretary of the Farmers Association of the Middle Ogun Irrigation Project, described the herders’ repeated invasions as a persistent threat to their livelihoods.

The farm owner noted that the affected land had been damaged twice, the latest being on July 11, despite previous assurances from the herders to avoid further incursions.

OYRLEA said it plans to obtain a written undertaking from the herders to prevent future trespass and promote peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders in the area.