Idris Ahmed, Lokoja
Despite concerted efforts by the government and security agencies in Kogi state stem violence, two Herdsmen and a farmer have been reported killed killed at Oforachi community in Igalamela Odolu local government area of Kogi state.
The State police command confirmed the development in a statement issued in Lokoja on Monday.
Our Correspondent reports that the killing of a farmer, Mr Godwin Egbunu Omale by suspected herdsmen in Oforachi community on Saturday and rumours of reprisal the following day ignited tension across communities in the area.
Eye witnesses, said the deceased, had gone to report the alleged destruction of his farmland by the cows to the police and he was asked to come back the following day, 19th, to enable them visit the farm for on the spot assessment.
According to them, the deceased returned as agreed and a policeman along with some family members accompanied him to the farm.
“As they were trying to track the herders, he was ambushed and killed, while the others along with the police officer narrowly escaped to report the development at home,” Mr Ojodale Usman disclosed on Monday.
The national president of the Igalamela Cultural and Development Association (ICDA), Mr Isaac Inna said it took more than five hours to get security agent deployed to the area, and that paved way for the culprits to escape from the community.
He alleged that in the past one month, not less than 50 cases of “Fulani herdsmen deliberate activities to destroy farmlands have been reported to the police without proper action.
According to the police Officer in charge of Oforachi Police post, they have been facing the problem of shortage of staff to man the area effectively. In his words “only two police officers are deployed to the police post in charge of so large a community”, and asserted that just recently, in his effort to apprehend one of this Fulani criminals, faced stiff opposition by the herders who were armed with sophisticated weapon.
He further alleged that there were “cases of people who have had their hands chopped off, many killed and girls and women raped on their farmlands” without adequate government intervention.
It was gathered that mass exodus from the area has heightened as rumours of reprisal over the killing of two herdsmen became rife on Monday.
When Contacted the State Police Command confirmed the killing of the farmer but said that the corpses of two herdersmen believed to have been killed in a reprisal attack were found in Ofu River near Oforachi community.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP William Aya said the corpses of the herders were recovered with their hands and legs tied to nine inches block, adding that their remains have since been deposited in the mortuary after an autopsy was conducted.
