Five communities across the Gassol district of the Gassol local government council of Taraba State have expressed sadness at the alleged confiscation of their farmlands by Senator Sanusi Dagash.

The communities who put aside their differences and thronged out in their numbers with placards of various inscriptions called on the authorities concerned to contact the senators to order.

Speaking on behalf of the communities, the community’s spokesperson, Hudu Kashimu, said they have collectively agreed not to go to bed pending when the senator is called to order by the state governor Agbu Kefas and other concerned authorities.

Kashimu who announced that the communities will fiercely resist what they described as a land-grabbing scheme orchestrated by the Senator, declared their readiness to defend their lands “with the last drop of their blood.”

With placards that our state correspondent observed bore slogans like “Dagash, stop land grab in our community, we would rather die than relinquish our land,” the communities expressed their determination to fight any attempts to take over their property.

They recounted that the land in dispute had originally been granted to former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Shuaibu Bukar, by the late Emir of Muri, Umaru Abba Tukur, during an official visit to Gassol in 1984.

“After Dr. Bukar’s death, the minister’s family sold the land to Senator Dagash, a former Senator from Borno State. Dagash then secretly obtained a Certificate of Occupancy, expanding the original 200 hectares to 5,000 hectares without the consent or knowledge of the land’s original owners,” the communities alleged

The communities said they raised the issue with former Governor Darius Ishaku, who, following an investigation, ordered the revocation of the land.

Despite the former governor’s intervention, the communities claimed that Senator Dagash later approached the governor, seeking a smaller portion of the land for farming.

However, after Governor Ishaku left office, Senator Dagash took the matter to court, seeking the reinstatement of his claim to the full 5,000 hectares.”

He called on the current governor to thoroughly review the history of the land dispute and intervene to ensure that the communities retain their lands.

The protesting five communities, as noticed by our correspondent, are Wurbo, Kwatantaru, Sendirde, Natride, and Dinyaw, which are made up of peasant farmers.

Expressing his impartiality in the dispute, the traditional ruler of Gassol, Idris Chiroma, urged the protesters to remain calm, as the case is currently before the court.