Due to the general insecurity, tension, and rage brought on by the suspicious actions of suspected herders thought to be collaborating with kidnappers, what transpired on Thursday, March 27, in Uromi, the capital of Esan North East Local Government Area in Edo State, could have easily occurred in any other area of the state.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
According to The Vanguard, more than 24 communities across Edo Central, Edo North, and Edo South have reportedly been taken over and are now under the control of violent herders said to be from northern Nigeria.
A similar situation is also happening in over 30 communities in Delta and Bayelsa States, where people—especially farmers—are too scared to go back to their farms. Reports say some bold Fulani herders are entering farms, pulling out crops to feed their cows, assaulting women, and kidnapping villagers for ransom.
Some months ago, angry women in Uromi marched to the palace of the Onojie of Uromi to complain about the growing number of kidnappings and killings in the area.
At the same time, some residents disagreed with the claims made by the Hausa victims. They said that kidnappers hiding in the forest often keep dogs, and they found the behaviour of the supposed victims suspicious, especially because they were seen loading their things into a truck on the road between Onicha-Ugbo in Delta State and Ubiaja in Edo State.
An indigene identified as Brown Okojie recounted that earlier in the year, a pregnant woman went into labour, and her husband had no option but to take her to the hospital around midnight. While they were on their way, they were kidnapped by herdsmen. He explained that the woman remained in labor throughout the night and eventually gave birth to a baby boy in the presence of the kidnappers the following morning.
He said, “The Fulani herdsmen gave that baby boy to their dogs because they move with the dogs; the woman said she watched her baby being eaten alive by the dogs. She’s still living with the trauma, so you can’t just say that because those victims were with dogs, it made them hunters. After this incident, they still asked for ransom before they were released. They did that to show their level of harshness.”
Further talking, he said that a few days before the incident, about twelve children were going to their school together in a community in Ewohi, but some cows emerged from the bush, and the children ran. Along the line, a three-year-old child who couldn’t run was trampled upon, killed by the cows, and nothing happened.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
