A Jigawa State farmers and herders special court on Tuesday awarded the sum of N500 million to some herders who destroyed cultivated farmlands in the Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of the state.

The judgement, delivered by its presiding judge, Yusuf Abubakar, was premised on relevant Penal Code sections, following clashes between farmers and herders in Kwarsa, Larau and Tukuda forest areas.

The litigation process, which lasted two years, was instituted by the Jigawa State Commissioner of Police against nine defendants, including a herder identified as Ilu Adamu.

The state police commissioner accused the defendants of wandering into cultivated farmlands, destroying property owned by the state’s All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) chairman and inflicting bodily harm on some farmers during the incidents.

The court noted that torching a tractor tyre and a motorcycle, belonging to the Jigawa State AFAN chairman, constituted an offence punishable under section 326 of the penal code.

Justice Abubakar established that the accused herders were guilty of the offences levelled against them, violating sections 332, 114, 326, 97, 78, 19 and 322.

In its final ruling, the court ordered the convicts to pay N500 million as compensation to the affected farmers, granting them a 30-day period to file an appeal against the judgement.

“Having carefully evaluated the evidence before the court, the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The convicts are hereby ordered to jointly pay the sum of N500 million as damages to the affected farmers,” Justice Abubakar stated.

Also, the court ordered the defendants to jointly pay the sum of N500,000 to the farmers’ association chairman, whose property was destroyed.