Court Orders Nine Herders to Pay N500m for Destruction of Crops in Jigawa

A Jigawa State Farmers and Herders Special Court has ordered nine cattle herders to pay N500 million in compensation to farmers whose crops were destroyed in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of the state.

The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Yusuf Abubakar, who relied on relevant provisions of the Penal Code, including Sections 78, 19, and 322.

The case was instituted by the Jigawa State Commissioner of Police against Ilu Adamu and eight other defendants after more than two years of legal proceedings. The defendants were charged with four offences, including unlawfully allowing their cattle to stray into cultivated farmlands, resulting in widespread damage to crops. The offence is punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code.

The court also found the herders liable for the destruction of property belonging to the state chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN). Evidence before the court showed that the defendants burned a tractor tyre and a motorcycle owned by the AFAN chairman, an act punishable under Section 326 of the Penal Code. The court ordered the defendants to pay N500,000 as compensation for the damaged property.

Justice Abubakar further ruled that the defendants inflicted bodily harm on some farmers during the incidents, in violation of Sections 332 and 114 of the Penal Code.

After reviewing the prosecution’s evidence, the court found the herders guilty on all counts. In addition to the compensation orders, the court granted the convicts 30 days to appeal the judgment.

The incidents that led to the trial occurred in the Kwarsa, Larau, and Tukuda forest areas of Birnin Kudu LGA, communities that have experienced repeated conflicts between farmers and herders over land use and grazing activities.