₦airaland Forum

FROM SEGUN OLATUNJI, ABEOKUTA

I f not for providence, the Aregbede brothers, Tunde and Taiye, would have been killed by Fulani herdsmen who have for years now terrorised residents of villages dotting Ketu, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Twenty five-year-old Tunde and his younger brother, Taiye, 24, of Ogunba Ayetoro would have added to the statistics of Ketu residents who have fallen victims in the perennial “war” between the Fulani herdsmen and the farmers struggling over the control of the border settlements few kilometres away from the neighbouring Benin Republic.

Only penultimate weekend, a mother of three, Mrs. Ayesi Balogun, was allegedly raped and hacked to death by suspected Fu lani herdsmen on her farm in Asa, one of the Ketu villages. About 12 houses were also alleged burnt by suspected Fulani herds men during a nocturnal raid carried out on Ojuegun in Ijoun penultimate Sunday.

The Aregbede brothers had high hopes of getting some compensation from the Fulani herdsmen for their crops and farms allegedly eaten up and destroyed by their cattle and so headed to the Gaa (base) of the herdsmen to lay their complaints.

Their hopes for compensation were, however, not only dashed, but also turned sour when they were suddenly held hostage by some of the armed herdsmen. According to them, at first, the Fulani pretended to be listening to the complaints brought by the two brothers until suddenly armed herds men emerged and surrounded them, point ing their sophisticated guns at them.

Perplexed by the unexpected develop ment, the Aregbede brothers claimed that they were then seized and bound hand and legs by some of the herdsmen, who contin ued to threaten to shoot them.

Unknown to the two, their ordeal in the hands of the Fulani marauders had just begun as they were soon to be forcibly fed at gunpoint with an admixture of cow dung and urine. Unwilling to eat the “special cuisine,” the two brothers were allegedly given the beating of their lives.

Tunde said: “We went to the base of the Fulani because we were told that there was a committee that was responsible for paying compensation for crops and farms destroyed by the cows. They first told us they would address the matter but suddenly some armed men surrounded and overpow ered us. They said we were too bold to have come to their base to complain that their cattle destroyed our crops.

“We told them we only came so that the matter could be resolved amicably but they said no, we would not leave their base alive. They then tied our hands and legs together. They started beating us. I was given a slap and I became deaf for some time.”

Taiye continued: “The Fulani abducted the two of us when we went to complain to them about how their cattle destroyed our farms. They tied us together with rope. They gave us cow dung mixed with urine at gunpoint, threatening to kill us if we did not eat it. They were armed with AK-47 rifles. They vowed that they would never pay any farmer for the crops destroyed by their cows.

“While we were still tied down, they started deliberating on whether to kill us or allow us to go. But at a point they untied us and asked us to go. We never thought they would let us go. It’s just God’s interven tion because we had given up hope that we would leave there alive. The Fulani herds men are still in our area. We hardly sleep at night because of the fear of the Fulani herdsmen.”

A community leader, Chief Ephraim Elegbede, said schools in the area had been forced to close down because of the threat posed by suspected Fulani herdsmen:

“In our area, Fulani attack has become frequent. They always attack us and kill our people. Because of them, we have no source of potable water; they always destroy our crops every year. Also, schools have been closed because we no longer allow our chil dren to go to school because of the fear that they might be attacked by the Fulani while on their way. The schools could not conduct the first term examinations because of the danger posed by the Fulani. They feed their cow with our banana and if we complain they would say it is meant to serve as the feed for their livestock.”

He alleged that last year suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked a church in the area during a night vigil, killing a father and his son as well as other worshippers. Elegbede claimed that the matter had been reported to the state Police Command Headquarters in Eleweran each time it had occurred.

The community leader, however, ap pealed to the state government to urgently intervene by coming to the rescue of the Ketu people. He said: “We want the state government to help us to stop the Fulani herdsmen from destroying our ancestral   lands and killing our people. We are all farmers and if we are chased away from our fatherland, where else can we go to? So, the government should assist us to check the excesses of the Fulani herdsmen. We did not kill any Fulani. The problem is that because of the borders we share with Benin Republic, whenever anything happened to them over there they usually cross over to our villages in Nigeria to retaliate. We did not kill any Fulani.” lands and killing our people. We are all

A group, Ketu Advancement Forum (KAF), however, accused the state govern ment of inaction over the matter. The KAF in SMS messages alleged that Governor Ibikunle Amosun had been shirking in his responsibility as the chief security officer of the state, while the Fulani herdsmen intensified their alleged killing of innocent citizens. It also accused the governor of being insensitive to the plight of the hapless Ketu people: “We are asking Governor Amosun why he’s criminally silent as chief security officer of the state over the killing of the Ketu people by herdsmen as if there’s no blood flowing in him.”

But the State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said a meeting was convened between the representatives of the Fulani herdsmen and the Ketu people last week at the state Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta:

“We held a meeting with them and we came up with some resolutions concerning the lingering crisis between the herdsmen and the farmers. Let’s be patient and allow the state government to implement the resolutions. By the time they implement the resolutions, peace will return to the area.

“There was a standing committee. I think the committee must have submit ted the resolutions. It is a national issue as well with the Federal Government having interest in such issues and such interest has been domesticated in Ogun State such that the government, all stakeholders, particu larly the police, all of them have interest in making sure the committee presents a good report. I’m not sure they have submitted but I know there are some resolutions submitted to the state government for implementation. But with that, I don’t think there will be any problem again.

“But at the meeting, they were warned to maintain the status quo, to maintain peace in the area. We don’t want them to presume. The first killing, it was a presumption, the second one, it was a presumption that Fulani killed Yoruba and Yoruba killed Fulani. We did not get any suspect at the scene, we cannot link anybody to the killings for now, whether Fulani or farmers.”


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Thank God they are not hungry for blood this time around..

bunch of retards
value a cow more than d unique life of a human?
it wld all come to a fair play someday.

Brutal n senseless just like their brother(buhari)!!! The military should take note!

Yoruba, una neva see anything. Dem go still take one more state, make una dey follow dem like mumu

But those fulani herdsmen are ur masters to entirnity how dare you challenge them to pay compesation?