A LARGE crowd of peasant farmers gathered on Tuesday to protest at the Dangote Sugar Refinery in Yola, Adamawa State, accusing the company of land grabbing.
The group, which included the elderly, youths, women, and children, assembled at the sugar factory on Yola-Gombe Road to demand a stop to Dangote’s planned expansion of its sugarcane farm.
The protesters, drawn from the Kola, Dumna, and Zakawon districts in the Guyuk local government area, vowed to resist the expansion at all costs.
Brandishing placards with various inscriptions, the visibly distressed farming communities emphasised that their only means of livelihood was being threatened by the expansion plan.
Emphasizing the connection between hunger and insecurity, the leader of the protesters, David Time, cautioned that seizing their farmlands would worsen the area’s already fragile peace.
Time further criticized the Sugar Refinery for neglecting its corporate social responsibility to the communities.
According to him, the company has not constructed a single medical facility or a block of classrooms, let alone provided water or roads.
To prevent the impending crisis, he fervently urged President Bola Tinubu and Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of the state to intervene and stop Dangote from encroaching on their farmlands.
“Where will our teeming farmers go if the Dangote Sugar Refinery takes over that small portion of our farmlands? What will become of our youths if Dangote takes over our farms?
“The youths are crying and appealing to the president and Governor Ahmadu Fintiri to intervene on this onslaught of making us slaves on our land.
“Farming is the only means of our livelihood. Our farms are our only livelihood tickets for sustainability. The youths are resolute – we reject in totality any expansion move by the Dangote Sugar Refinery,” Time said.
When approached for a comment, Daniel Andrew, the Community Relations Officer for Dangote Sugar Refinery, declined, citing personal health reasons at the time.
Dangote Sugar Refinery is owned by Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote.
Aliko Dangote, the founder, president, and chief executive of the Dangote Group, leads what is claimed to be the largest conglomerate in West Africa.
The group operates in 17 African countries and dominates the cement market on the continent. As per a March 2025 report by Business Insider Africa, Dangote’s net worth surged from $13 billion to $23 billion, placing him at the top of the list.
Saharareporters
