From Bala Yahaya, Minna
The Chief Imam of Pangu-gari, Alhaji Umar Danladi Pangu, in Rafi Local Council of Niger State, has accused the District Head of Tegina, Garba Bako, of forcefully taking over his farmland.

The Chief Imam hinted that the farmland measuring over 70.5 hectares was located in Tegina community and inherited by him and his siblings from his father years ago.He claimed that the district head had taken ownership of the farmland, which belongs to him and his siblings, in an address to newsmen yesterday.

According to him, Bako has been tormenting, threatening, and harassing him and his siblings over their farmland. He further revealed that the district head even allocated part of the farmland measuring about 25 hectares to some farmers without his consent.

He explained that when he demanded to know who gave them the land, the trespassers threatened to harm him and his siblings, warning that he would regret entering the land.

To avoid any breach of peace and security in the community, the Imam said he approached the Shari’a Court in Tegina and obtained a judgement against the trespassers.

The court convicted one of the trespassers and sentenced him to seven months imprisonment or a fine of N50,000. He disclosed that the district head thereafter summoned him to his palace together with the trespassers, who were eight in number, and paid the fine imposed on them by the court.

Bako, he said, warned him to steer clear of the same farmland for which the court had ruled in his favour or risk arrest.
“The district head threatened me, saying I’d regret what would happen to me if I was seen near the farmland. He insulted me in the presence of the trespassers and my siblings.

“He even claimed that he had taken possession of the farmland and told me to go back to the court, insisting nothing would happen,” the Imam alleged.
Speaking further, Pangu explained that the former district head, Saifudeen Bako, and the late emir of Kagara, Alhaji Salihu Tanko, had almost resolved the issue in his favour before their deaths.

He regretted that the district head inherited the matter from his predecessor and refused to draw the attention of the current Emir of Kagara, Alhaji Ahmed Garba Gunna Attahiru II.

“Only for him to take over the farmland from me and my siblings and share 25.5 hectares of the land with some people who are now farming on it,” he said.

In a reaction, Bako denied the allegations made by the Chief Imam. He said the farmland belongs to the Niger State government, noting that the matter is already in court, so he won’t comment on it.