Two people were killed and six other residents of Oke Ako in Ikole
local government council of Ekiti State, were Friday night, injured by
suspected Fulani cattle herders, for allegedly refusing them to use
their farmland for grazing.
Eyewitness confirmed to journalists
that the gory incident, which happened at about 8:00pm on Friday, was
despite the fact that the community had stopped the herdsmen from using
their farmland for grazing and allegedly chased them away from the
community.
One of the eyewitnesses, Mrs. Grace Olofin, alleged
that the herdsmen in their numbers invaded the community and brandished
dangerous weapons, including guns, bows, arrows, sword, matchetes; and
hacked down the victims in the melee that ensued.
According to
Olofin, the invaders had shot sporadically into the air and killed one
Lekan Arosanyin and Ibiteye Olomi, while six others who sustained
degrees of injuries are receiving treatment at a private hospital in Ado
Ekiti, the state capital.
Also another witness, who narrowly
escaped, Adebayo Ajayi, described the incident as a reprisal attack,
saying that the herdsmen had earlier fallen out with the villagers over
their grazing activities in the community.
.
Ajayi further revealed that the villagers had been resisting the use
of their farmlands as grazing fields by the herdsmen even as other
residents of Oke Ako blamed Police in the area for failing to act
swiftly when the case was reported to them.
One of the residents,
Muyiwa Olukosi, whose wife sustained matchete cuts, disclosed that the
case was reported to police in the area, stressing that there was no
response from the police who demanded N12, 000 to fuel their Hilux van
before they could move to the scene.
But for the prompt response
of a team of the Nigerian Army from Akure, Olukosi disclosed, the
situation would have been worse.The State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kolapo
Olusola, while visiting the town on Saturday said the state government
would take all necessary steps to avoid reoccurrence.
“We won’t
allow strangers to destroy our lives and properties at will. This is a
sad development that we must tackle to ensure justice and peace reign in
the state,” he declared.
The Police Public Relations Officer
(PPRO) Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, while confirming the incident, disclosed
that normalcy has returned to the community, assuring that the police
would also investigate the allegation of laxity on the part of the
policemen
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