Farmers in Ondo State on Wednesday described the
declaration of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami,
on the security outfit recently inaugurated by Southwest governors (Amotekun)
as inhumane and illegal.
The farmers
under the auspices of Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association (OSACA)
said the position of the federal government through Malami, as unacceptable.
Addressing journalists at their Secretariat at Tradefair
Centre, Akure, the state capital, the farmers described Amotekun as ray of hope
to rescue them from the heinous activities of herdsmen who have been destroying
their farms and raping their women without restraint.
The Chairman of the association, Mr. Gbenga
Obaweya, said the security outfit jointly set up by the South-west governors
would help ameliorate the economic loss they suffered annually from the Fulani
herdsmen who grazed their crops.
"We say in clear terms that the declaration of
Amotekun as an illegality is totally unacceptable to us. The formation and
launch of Amotekun brought a ray of hope to us as farmers and ‘agropreneurs’
for a few days, but there is an attempt to dash all our hope.
"For years, we have sought peaceful means of
protecting our farmlands and investments with very little success. Any attempt
to shoot down this beacon of hope is a recipe for chaos and civil unrest.
"Will the pauperised farmer and distressed
investor not be pushed to violence if they believe they have nobody to protect
them?
"We
support the security outfit, Amotekun; we reject any proclamation that it is
illegal; we demand that the national body of Miyetti Allah be called to order,
and farmers who have been their victims should be compensated."
The group, therefore, called on "Ondo State Government
through the state House of Assembly to pass the proposed bill on regulation of
grazing activities that has been before them since 2018."
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