A group of commercial farmers in the Epe area of Lagos State has appealed to the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to intervene in what they described as the unlawful seizure of their farmlands by the Nigerian Army.
   
The farmers, operating under the Afero Commercial Farmers group, said three years after the alleged invasion of their farms, many members had become destitute and lost their means of livelihood.
   
The group, comprising about 50 corporate farmers with more than 1,000 workers formerly attached to their operations, made the appeal during a press conference where they formally presented a petition to the governor.
   
According to the chairman of the group, Wale Oyekoya, the land was allocated to the farmers in 2015 by the administration of former Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, after their original farms in Afero community were acquired for the proposed Lekki-Epe International Airport project.
   
Oyekoya said the farmers accepted the relocation in the interest of development but were later displaced again.
   
“This is the third year since the military seized our farms, claiming ownership of the land that was given to us by the Lagos State Government itself,” he said.
   
He added that repeated appeals to the state government and mediation efforts through the Lagos State Multi-Door Courthouse failed to resolve the dispute.
   
The farmers also alleged that government officials were at one point denied access to the farmland by military personnel during efforts to assess the level of destruction on the site.
   
“We reported to the Lagos State Government and officials were sent, but they were not allowed into the farm. Even when we went there together, access was denied. The government later had to use drones to assess the damages,” Oyekoya said.
   
The group estimated its losses at more than N3 billion, noting that members were preparing to harvest produce from over 1,000 active acres of farmland before the invasion.
   
The farmers said their operations included poultry, piggery, fisheries, oil palm and rubber plantations, as well as cold rooms, ranches and processing plants. They also alleged that soldiers released livestock and destroyed property that could not be removed from the farms.
   
According to the group, affected members include retirees who invested pensions and gratuities in farming, as well as professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants and retired security officials.
   
Some members, the group added, secured bank loans using their homes as collateral and now risk losing those properties.
   
“Two of our members have died. Some others are battling health challenges without adequate resources for proper medical treatment. Some are even abroad right now receiving medical treatment,” Oyekoya said.
   
In the petition addressed to the governor, the farmers said the state government had earlier constituted a committee made up of the Commissioner for Agriculture and the Attorney-General to review the matter, adding that the committee had submitted its report.
   
“All we can ask for at this point is your priority review of the report to enable closure of the matter without further delay. Further delay would translate into prolonged suffering for those of us who want to contribute to the food security of the nation,” the petition read.
   
The group is also seeking the allocation of another parcel of land, noting that the Epe farmland was the third location allocated to them following repeated relocations caused by government actions.
   
Asked whether the farmers would return to court, Oyekoya said the group preferred a negotiated settlement.
   
“We already went through the multi-door court. This government is our government and we want the governor to succeed. Not everything should go to court,” he said.
   
He also linked the farmers’ situation to wider concerns over food security in Lagos State and the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.