Northern Govs Move To End Attacks On Farmers

BY ABU NMODU, ABDULLAHI OLESIN, BABAJI USMAN BABAJI, ACHOR ABIMAJE, KABIR WURMA, FRANCIS OKOYE, DAMILOLA ORIGBEMISUYI

Northern governors are stepping up security measures and community-based interventions to protect farmers and prevent attacks during the harvest season, with states deploying specialised security personnel, strengthening patrols and reviving mechanisms for resolving farmer-herder disputes.

The measures include the deployment of Agro Rangers and other security personnel to farming communities, joint patrols, bush-combing operations, protected farming corridors and renewed engagement with farmers and herders.

However, farmers in some parts of the region remain apprehensive about returning to their farms, with reports of attacks, abductions, crop destruction and clashes over access to farmland and grazing routes.

Gombe bans night grazing

In Gombe State, for instance, the government last week reactivated the Farmers-Herders Prevention and Settlement of Disputes Committee and directed the 11 local government chairmen to replicate the mechanism at the local government, district and ward levels.

RELATED: Boko Haram Kills 15 Farmers In Borno

The government also banned night grazing and warned herders against entering cultivated farms, while farmers were cautioned against encroaching on cattle routes and designated grazing reserves.

Officials said the committees, alongside Agro Rangers, Operation Hattara, community security structures and grazing restrictions, were designed to prevent conflicts and maintain peace during the farming season.

The state has also strengthened its security architecture around farming communities following attacks in Akko and other parts of the state.

Between late 2025 and January 2026, attacks on Pindiga, Garin Galadima, Laro, Rahama and neighbouring communities in Akko LGA left several people dead and others abducted, while residents were displaced.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in June inaugurated an Agro Rangers operational base at Kanawa Forest Reserve in Yamaltu/Deba. The facility, supported by the state government and ACReSAL, has residential facilities, solar power and a motorised borehole.

Two motorcycles were also provided for patrols and rapid response.

The police have equally collaborated with Operation Hattara, joint patrol teams, hunters and vigilantes, while intelligence-led operations have been intensified.

In July, Police Commissioner Umar Chuso convened stakeholders from the state’s 11 LGAs, stressing the importance of community-level intervention because farmer-herder conflicts differ from one locality to another.

Benue Deploys Security Personnel

In Benue State, the police command has deployed additional personnel to volatile communities and intensified engagement with farmers and other stakeholders as part of efforts to prevent attacks during the harvest.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Peter Orchia Aondongu, said mobile policemen had been deployed to areas considered vulnerable, while divisional police officers were maintaining contact with farmers and community leaders.

“Apart from the deployments of mobile policemen, we have police divisions in which the DPOs are in constant talks with key stakeholders. We engage with the farmers and other community members. These are the measures the command has started at the command level and then at the divisional level, too,” he said.

According to Aondongu, the engagement enables farmers to report threats quickly and allows the police to respond promptly.

“We have been proactive by consistently holding key stakeholder engagements. Apart from that, we have made a massive deployment of additional mobile policemen in areas where we feel they are volatile and prone to attack. We have our mobile men on the ground, along with other tactical teams and security operatives, such as Operations Zenda and Anyam Nyor,” he added.

Kwara Begins Bush-Combing Operations

In Kwara State, the police, working with sister security agencies and vigilantes, have also stepped up efforts to protect farmers during the harvest.

The Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, said the command and other security agencies would launch a “bush combing” operation to clear remnants of bandits from forests across the state.

“We have employed adequate measures to ensure the protection of our farmers while working on their farms,” Ojo said.

The chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kwara State chapter, Malam Shuaib Ajibola, said local government chairmen across the state’s three senatorial districts were also supporting security agencies and local vigilantes with motorcycles and other logistics.

Borno Protects Farmers Through Security Corridors

In Borno State, where farmers suffered severe attacks during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, security agencies have continued to provide protection for farming communities.

A combined task force comprising personnel of the NSCDC, Agro Rangers and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) is providing security on farmlands during planting and harvesting.

A farmer in Zabarmari, Jere LGA, Mallam Hassan, said farming activities had remained relatively secure this year.

He said there had been no attacks on farmers in the area since the beginning of the farming season and that farmers were harvesting millet, groundnuts and maize under security protection.

The Commissioner of Information and Internal Security, Prof. Usman Tar, said the state government had provided free transport and security corridors for farmers under an arrangement established by the agriculture committee.

“We don’t allow farmers to stray more than 5km from farming corridors. We ensure that farming corridors are not far from military locations. We don’t allow the farmers to stray off into a far location where they may come in contact with terrorists,” Tar said.

He said security protocols were also deployed during planting and fertiliser application, while transport and security were provided during harvesting and the farmers’ return home.

Kebbi Provides Security for Harvest

In Kebbi State, farmers sought government protection through their associations as harvesting began in August.

Security personnel were subsequently deployed to designated farmlands across the four emirate councils of Gwandu, Zuru, Argungu and Yauri, with traditional rulers cooperating with security agencies.

The director of Security in the Cabinet Office, Birnin Kebbi, Abdulrahman Zagga, said farmers’ associations had formally requested security personnel during the harvest.

He said the government, through the heads of security agencies, subsequently deployed personnel across the state to protect farmers from attacks by Lakurawa bandits.

A farmer in Makera village, Birnin Kebbi LGA, Malam Zaki, said he had completed harvesting a large quantity of millet because of the protection provided by security personnel.

Plateau Farmers Still Fear Attacks

Despite increased security measures, farmers in some parts of Plateau State remain concerned about attacks.

The Commissioner of Information and Communication, Rt. Hon. Joyce Ramnap, said Governor Caleb Mutfwang had commissioned 150 specialised Agro Rangers through the NSCDC to provide direct security for farmers and their crops.

However, two farmers, Da Jonah Pwajok from Barkin Ladi and Ardong Zacharia from Bokkos LGA, said recent attacks had made it difficult for farmers in Barkin Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos to access their farms.

They said the affected areas were major producers of grains and Irish potatoes but that insecurity was threatening the harvest.

“As it is now, we can’t go to our farms because of insecurity,” they said.

They also disputed the state government’s claim that adequate security had been provided, saying some farmers were unable to sleep in their homes, let alone go to their farms.

Niger Farmers Still Negotiating Access

In Niger State, government security efforts are being tested by persistent attacks in Mariga, Rijau, Shiroro, Munya and Borgu local government areas.

Farmers in Erena, Allawa and Kukoki in Shiroro LGA, as well as parts of Mariga LGA, reportedly negotiate with bandits and pay money to gain access to their farms and harvest their crops.

A farmer in Mariga LGA, Bala Mohammed, said he narrowly escaped abduction by bandits on his farm last week.

He said there was barely any security presence around his farm, located between Mariga and Kontagora, forcing him to abandon his harvest.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, did not respond to inquiries on measures being taken to address the situation, while the Commissioner of Homeland Security, Barrister Maurice Justin Magaji, could not be reached as of press time.

Ondo Steps Up Amotekun Patrols

In Ondo State, the government has also increased security patrols around farming communities through the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun.

The state Amotekun Commander, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said Rangers were stationed in forests and around farms to protect farmers.

“Our farmers can peacefully go to the farm, work and harvest the handiwork of their sweat. I want to assure you that our farms are safe,” Adeleye said.

He added that Amotekun personnel were also manning major junctions across the state, while forest-based Rangers continued to patrol farming areas.

However, a cassava farmer in Oba-Akoko, Akoko South-West LGA, Isaiah Idowu, said although the presence of Amotekun had reduced insecurity, the threat had not disappeared.

He cited the killing of a farmer in neighbouring Supare-Akoko, a border community, last month.

Idowu said he continued farming because it remained his means of feeding his family but had reduced the frequency of his visits to the farm because of security concerns.

“If I have another means of feeding my family, I will abandon the farm totally,” he said.

The measures being adopted across the states reflect growing efforts by governments and security agencies to secure farms and prevent violence during the harvest season.

While states such as Gombe, Borno, Benue, Kwara, Kebbi and Ondo have introduced or strengthened patrols, specialised security deployments and community-level interventions, persistent attacks in parts of Niger and Plateau show that access to farmland remains a security challenge.

For farmers, the effectiveness of the measures will ultimately be judged by whether they can safely reach their farms, harvest their crops and return home without attacks, abductions or loss of livelihoods.