A Jigawa state farmers and herders special court has ordered nine cattle herders to pay N500 million as compensation to farmers whose crops they destroyed in Birnin Kudu LGA.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by Yusuf Abubakar, who
based the judgment on relevant provisions of the Penal Code, including sections
78, 19 and 322.
The case was filed by the Jigawa state commissioner of
police against Ilu Adamu and eight other defendants and followed more than two
years of legal proceedings.
According to Premium Times, the accused persons were charged
with four offences, among them unlawfully permitting their cattle to wander
into cultivated farmlands, leading to extensive destruction of crops, contrary
to section 97 of the penal code.
In his verdict, the judge also held the defendants
responsible for the destruction of property belonging to the 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 chairperson, an offence punishable under section
326 of the penal code, and ordered them to pay N500,000 as compensation.
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.
After reviewing the evidence presented by the prosecution,
the court found the herders guilty on all counts.
Consequently, the court ordered the convicts to 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 witnessed recurring clashes between
farmers and herders over land use and grazing rights.
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