Ogun communities raise the alarm over influx of herdsmen from Oyo

Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta

RESIDENTS of Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State where a farmer was recently slaughtered by Fulani herdsmen have raised the alarm that the fleeing Fulani herdsmen from Oyo State have invaded their area, allegedly killing their people and destroying property.

The residents said famine was looming in their area following the invasion by the herdsmen, who they said, had forced farmers to abandon their farms for fear of being attack.

The local government shares a border with Igangan and Ijio in Oyo State and Benin Republic.

They spoke through a statement signed by some leaders of the residents; Southern Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Abdulakeem Mulero; National Youth Council of Nigeria, Saheed Oyeleye; Federation of Imeko-Afon Local Government Student Union, Adebia  Adegoke  and  The Patriots, Imeko-Afon Local Government, Abel Babatunde.

The residents in the statement titled, ‘An SOS on incessant killings, destruction of property and laying siege by killer herdsmen in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area, Ogun State,’ described the killing on Sunday by Fulani herdsmen as debilitating, saying it had thrown them into another mourning following the death of Dele Olowoniyi.

Olowoniyi was murdered by killer Fulani herdsmen in his farm settlement around 1am on Sunday at Oha village in Imeko, Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of the state.

The statement read, “The unfortunate incident happened when Fulani herdsmen stormed the village at midnight; brandishing guns and machetes, shooting indiscriminately and destroying properties. Late Dele Olowoniyi, a farmer in his late 30s, was sleeping outside his house to enjoy the midnight breeze having complained of heat to his wife.

“He was rounded-up by the hoodlums who slaughtered him in a barbaric manner. They thereafter fled to Iwoye, a neighboring town in the same Imeko/Afon Local Government. This was according to an eyewitness who was peeping from a nearby bush.

“On the 2nd of January, 2021, Alhaja Serifat Abiola-Adisa, a native of Imeko, was kidnapped in her filling station at Igboora, Oyo State. The kidnappers shooting in their usual manner abducted the business woman and later killed her at a few distance away from her filling station. There is palpability of famine in an area known to be one of the food baskets of the state.”

When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Communication, Remmy Hazzan, said the security agencies were on top of the situation.

Also speaking, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, pleaded for more time to speak on the development.

He, however, did not call back as of the time of filing this report.

PUNCH