A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae, on Monday blamed malice and hatred for the burning of his farm by yet-to-be-identified persons.

Reacting to the incident, which took place on Sunday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Falae alleged that herdsmen in the area were responsible for the attack.

But the Ondo State Police Command said it was yet to ascertain if the crime was perpetrated by herds.

The former SGF, however, noted that there was no tangible reason why his farm would be set on fire, if not for hatred from a group of people.

“When they burn my oil palm plantation, there is no rational reason for it except malice and hatred.

“The intention is what worries me; that there is a group of Nigerians who want to deliberately destroy the belongings of other Nigerians. The destruction does not, in my view, enhance their own well-being at all.

“If they drive the cows to eat my maize, it destroys my own asset – it enhances their own assets. They are using me to subsidise their own cows. That is bad,” Falae added.

He recalled how he was kidnapped from the same farm by gunmen sometime in 2015.

The former Presidential candidate recalled his abductors in that incident were later apprehended and prosecuted.

“They kidnapped me (six of them). I lived with them in the bush for four days. The six of them were tried and convicted and they were sent to live jail. They are in prison now,” he said.

Also speaking to reporters, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Gbenga Adeyanju vowed that the perpetrators of the evil act would be brought to justice.

He said: “Whatever it is, we will get to the root (of the matter). The bushes have been burnt; what led to the bushes being burnt is what we are going to look at. It’s bush burning, but what caused it is another issue.”

•Text courtesy of Channels TV.

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