Suspected armed Fulani herdsmen on New Year’s eve stormed the N100m rice farm (about 250 hectares of land) belonging to Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, and set it ablaze.
The farm manager told reporters that the herders came to the farm with a large number of cattle during the day and set it on fire at three different points.
Iordzua said the inferno could not be put out due to the wild nature of the fire as a result of the harmattan.
The farm manager added that security agents were mobilised to go after the herdsmen, who shot sporadically in the air as they retreated towards the Nasarawa State border.
He said, “The burnt portion of this rice farm is estimated to be 250 hectares and was worth well over N100m.
“The herdsmen came with large numbers of cattle and they set fire to the large expanse of farmland in three places, which made the fire to spread faster than expected.”
