A Jigawa state farmers and herders special court has ordered nine cattle herders to pay N500 million as compensation to farmers whose crops were destroyed in Birnin Kudu local government area of the state.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by Yusuf Abubakar, the presiding judge, who said the judgment was based on relevant provisions of the Penal Code, including sections 78, 19 and 322.
The was instituted by the Jigawa state commissioner of police against Ilu Adamu and eight other defendants after prolonged disputes between farmers and herders in the affected communities.
Court finds herders guilty on multiple counts
According to the charge sheet, the defendants unlawfully allowed their cattle to stray into cultivated farmlands, resulting in widespread destruction of crops.
The offence, the court held, contravenes section 97 of the Penal Code.
After reviewing the evidence presented by the prosecution, Abubakar found the herders guilty on all four counts brought against them.
Additional compensation ordered for destroyed property
In his verdict, the judge also held the defendants responsible for the destruction of property belonging to the Jigawa state chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).
The court found that the herders burned a tractor tyre and a motorcycle owned by the AFAN chairman, an offence punishable under section 326 of the Penal Code.
The defendants were ordered to pay an additional N500,000 as compensation for the damaged property.
Farmers also assaulted during incidents
Abubakar further ruled that the defendants caused bodily harm to some farmers during the incidents, an act which violated sections 332 and 114 of the Penal Code.
The court said the violence escalated beyond crop destruction and posed a threat to lives and public order in the affected communities.
Appeal window granted
Consequently, the court ordered the convicts to jointly pay N500 million in damages to the affected farmers and granted them 30 days to file an appeal against the judgment.
The incidents that led to the trial occurred in the Kwarsa, Larau and Tukuda forest areas of Birnin Kudu LGA.
The communities have experienced recurring clashes between farmers and herders over land use and grazing rights.
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