A field fire that broke out in the early hours of the morning burned palm palms worth millions of naira and destroyed farmland in Ogun State's Onipepe axis of Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area.
Mrs Folake Marcus-Bello, a former Nigerian ambassador to Zambia and Malawi, is the owner of the farmland.
According to information provided by our correspondent, the early-morning fire on Tuesday destroyed approximately 500 palm trees in addition to other agricultural goods on the 10 hectares of Folake B Farm property.
It is still unknown what started the fire at the farmland along the Siun-Sagamu-Abeokuta motorway, but it was learned that the blaze burned for almost four hours before it was extinguished.
On Thursday, it was discovered on a visit to the farms that the afflicted palm palms had been reduced to ashes.
Mrs Adesola Adebayo, the farm's manager, claimed that she received a phone call from the locals at around 4.30 p.m. telling her of the fire, and she had to get to the scene.
She claimed that when they arrived, she and other locals were powerless to stop the fire's rapid growth and severe damage because of the size of the fire and the fact that it was out of control.
“I don’t know the cause of the fire; maybe it was caused by hunters looking for bush meat, who might have put fire on the bush to track the animals. One cannot also rule out activities of some unscrupulous elements who may deliberately set the farmland on fire. The harmattan further worsens the situation,” Adebayo said.
The former Nigerian Ambassador confirmed the “sad development,” adding that she was short of words when she heard about the development, stressing that she has committed millions of naira to the farmland.
“This is disturbing and worrisome. I am short of words and it was difficult to believe. Just as we are looking forward to harvest, the inferno destroyed millions of naira in farm products. The larger part of the 10 hectares of the farmland has been consumed,” she said.