Herdsmen strike in Ekiti, kill police corporal, two villagers wounded
By Adewale AdeoyePublished TodayNewsRating: Unrated

Fulani herdsmen have killed a police Corporal identified as Shuaib, a native of Edo State who until his death was the head of a little community police station located at Irele, North East of Ekiti State. The dawn attack on Wednesday left two peasants critically wounded.

The incidence happened barely a week after the Northern city of Jos witnessed violent attacks by herdsmen on locals. The Jos incidence claimed hundreds of deaths, including but not limited to women and children.

Police sources at Ikole Ekiti, the chief town in the area, claimed that a ‘bush-hunt’ for the murderers lasted for two days but did not yield results until last Friday when three of the herdsmen were arrested. Another suspect was arrested at Ogbe, on the community’s market day. Ogbe is a nuclear settlement on the fringe, between Kogi and Ekiti States.

Eyewitnesses claimed that in the early hours of Wednesday, two natives had complained to the local police authority after several cows owned by the herdsmen had invaded subsistent farms, eating much of the cash crops. Yam tubers destroyed or eaten were said to be in hundreds. The killing of the police man, locals claimed, marked the odd peak of frequent skirmishes that had characterized the relationship between natives and the herdsmen for close to half a decade.

‘The herdsmen come to our farms all the time. We are at their mercy. In this latest case, they invaded the farms cockcrow last Wednesday after which they wounded several of the farm owners. The owners reported the incidence to the police station from where a corporal was sent to arrest the herdsmen. When they sighted the policeman, they viciously attacked and killed him,’ an old farmer whose family of five spends most of their days working and sleeping on their farmland told The Nation. He said since the recent attack, his family has relocated into his ancestral home in the centre of the small, peaceful community.

He said the tow attacked peasants were Tiv, natives of Benue State, who recently migrated into the area in large numbers for farming. Many of the Tiv were said to be victims of past ethnic clashes in Taraba state where many of them were displaced due to the year-long fighting with their Junkun neighbours in 2004.

Mr Sola Olatunde, an indigene of Ekiti State and member of the Ekiti Development Association, EDA said the past one decade has seen what he called the invasion of Ekiti and many states in the South West by ‘herdsmen that have no respect nor understanding of the customs, tradition and ownership of land by families and communities.’ He said the grazing activities of the cattles owned by the herdsmen have led to the depletion of forestland in Ekiti while raising the specter of serious ethnic conflict in the entire South West region.

‘We have on our hands a very serious social, cultural and security problems due to the invasion of the herdsmen some of whom are from Chad, Niger and Mali. Unfortunately they are all armed with guns and machetes. They forcefully live in our ancestral lands which they now seize by force,’ Olatunde stated adding that cases of violent robbery and despoil of minors are constantly associated with the herdsmen.

A community leader in Irele, Dr Niyi Oluwafemi, who is a medical doctor, told The Nation that herdsmen in the area occasionally block the new trunk-B road that runs from Ikole to the surrounding towns and villages with their cattles, leading to untold hardship for commuters. He said he has confidence in the ability of the police to tackle the menace.
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No seriously. Enough. I'm still trying to make sense of that Jos incident. Abeg ehn? Cant a sista get a minute of peace? Geex!

Cant these people wait and not kill each other for ONE month? Ehn? ONE month is all I ask for, just one! Is it too much to ask?

GEEEXoX!

‘We have on our hands a very serious social, cultural and security problems due to the invasion of the herdsmen some of whom are from Chad, Niger and Mali. Unfortunately they are all armed with guns and machetes. They forcefully live in our ancestral lands which they now seize by force,’ Olatunde stated adding that cases of violent robbery and despoil of minors are constantly associated with the herdsmen.

Yoruba cowards are being overun by Fulani right in the middle of ngbatiland? Na wao Where is Awo?

The story says all over southwest and i wonder what the OPC is doing and imagine forcefully taking over their lands. What are the Yoruba leadership doing? they are just too quiet for such situations. Going to peoples farm lands to eat their crops and blocking the roads with their cattle.

Did someone say Yoruba leaders? Sorry they re too busy stealing and assassinating each other. As for the farmers, let them stay calm, otherwise the fed govt is going to unleash jobless soldiers on them.Nigeria and all its abundant resources plus armed forces is solely for d use of the Hausa/Fulani majority. The rest of the country are 2nd class citizens.

Xavier.:

Did someone say Yoruba leaders? Sorry they re too busy stealing and assassinating each other. As for the farmers, let them stay calm, otherwise the fed govt is going to unleash jobless soldiers on them.Nigeria and all its abundant resources plus armed forces is solely for d use of the Hausa/Fulani majority. The rest of the country are 2nd class citizens. 

But this is terrible and they are not even Nigerian citizens,  Fulani's from Mali, Niger and chad terrorizing us in our own country.

Too bad, but it's reality. And if u think it's just ekiti, then u re delusional. It is a cmon occurence in all swestern states. And trust me if one of them is touched, the GOC of the closest army barrack springs into action. It serves us right, we ve traded personal comfort for the cmon good. A classic example is Dimeji Bankole, who became NA speaker cause he had earlier supported the erosion fund for Northern states as against the anti ocean encroachment project in Lagos. That's skewed the Nigeria politics is.
Am not surprised seun is currently preaching one Nigeria and acting as the personal PRO for Turai. That is one good way of getting into National politics.

My consolationis this, a hosue of card would also fall. A new Nigeri would arise, a more egalitarian society, one where all citizens would ve equal rights and privileges. Just sad that this might elude my generation.

Fulani takes over Ekiti.