An Orchard Farm, belonging to former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has been gutted by fire.
The farmland, located at Howe, a few kilometres away from Aliade, headquarters of the Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State, was said to have suddenly gone up in flames on Saturday.
The inferno reportedly burnt some parts of the farmland.
The ex-president acquired about 2,420 hectares of farmland in the community, where he planted fruits such as mango and orange.
Though no one could ascertain the cause of the fire, sources said some indigenes, who claimed they were not compensated for the land, set the farm on fire.
The Director of the state fire service, Donald Ikyaaza, who confirmed the incident, said firefighters deployed in the area put out the fire.
“My men who went there said the people were fighting for compensation for land. Maybe the land was not adequately compensated for, so that’s why they decided to set fire on the farm. That is the only information I got from them,” he added.
Ikyaaza also lamented that his men, who put out the fire, were robbed and beaten by suspected robbers.
He said, “In fact, my men while coming back in the night, armed robbers caught them, beat them seriously and collected all their handsets. That was the compensation we (firefighters) got for fighting the fire at Obasanjo’s farm. Not all the farm was burnt. Some trees are still there; the seeds were saved.”
Many workers were said to have scampered to safety.
