We’ve lost over N150m to activities of land grabbers – FECA

The Federal College of Agriculture, Akure (FECA) says it has lost endangered trees and animal species with an economic value of over N150 million to the activities of land grabbers over the years.

FECA’s provost, Prof. Akinyemi Fadiyimu, disclosed this at a news conference on Thursday in Akure.

Fadiyimu said the college perimeter fence had been destroyed with bulldozers, and in the process, the college team plantation, the preserved gene bank of endangered plant and animal species, as well as other economic trees, were destroyed.

He said that it had become obvious that the perpetrators had total disregard for the rule of law.

The provost said the incessant trespass on the school’s land, which only remained N250 acres from the allocated 1,100 acres, was posing a serious existential threat to the college if not halted.

Fadiyimu said that the activities of land grabbers could pose a serious existential threat to the college or some of the courses presently being offered or proposed to be offered in the future.

“The recurring damage to government properties and threat to the lives of staff and students is also getting the college community agitated.

“Farms and plantations being used for practical training and students’ final year projects are continuously being damaged and increasingly becoming inaccessible for staff and students.

“During one of the incursions on Saturday, a student was harassed and almost lynched by the hoodlums.

"If something untoward should happen to any of our staff or students, the college management may not be able to control whatever action the students’ bodies may decide to embark upon in retaliation.’’

Fadiyimu used the occasion to call on everyone in the state to condemn the activities of land grabbers by together tagging them ‘enemies of progress.’

The provost also called on the security agencies in the state to operate on the side of justice and the rule of law by not aiding and abetting the lawbreakers.

“The public should beware not to patronise or deal with these unscrupulous elements to transfer the college land in contention until all the pending cases are resolved,” he said.