Ortom’s rice farm set ablaze

Armed men have set ablaze 250 hectares of rice farm belonging to Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom.

It was gathered that the estimated burnt portion of the rice farm, located in the governor’s hometown of Gbajimba in Guma Local Government Area of the state, is worth over N100 million.

The manager of the farm, Kena Iordzua, who conducted newsmen around the destroyed portion yesterday, alleged that the attackers were at the farm few days ago with a large number of cattle and set the farm on fire at three different points.

Iordzua also said that due to harmattan, the fire could not be put off despite concerted efforts by those working on the farm.

He said security agencies were mobilized to go after the armed men who shot sporadically in the air as they retreated out of the state.

Also speaking, the Principal Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Duties, Abrahams Kwaghngu, described the act as barbaric and a threat to food security.

The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ene Okon, was however, yet to comment on the matter as calls put to his mobile telephone line were answered at the time of filing this report.