Gunmen suspected to be herders and their collaborators, have laid siege to over 10 remote agrarian communities in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, abducted eight persons from Igolo community last week, and forced relatives to pay ransom for freed ones.

Residents have fled Igolo community and Abumwenre 2 communities because of the fear-provoking activities of the gunmen, who lay ambush for unsuspecting farmers on the farm road.

The audacious gunmen, who invaded Ughohue community twice last week, shot a woman dead and another on the face, now go from house to house, community to community, shooting, maiming and robbing helpless villagers.

Worse hit are Igolo and Abumwenre communities, completely deserted when NDV visited last week.

Terrified inhabitants of Abumwenre 2, which is a farm settlement, moved to the Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camp in Ohogua village.

Other affected communities are Ugboke, Ugbokili, Arinyan, Oshodin, Okokodo, Ofintebe, Okayan, Afiangbe, Okokhuo, Odiguetue, Odighi, Uhiere, Owan, Osasivbionba and Iguogho.

Odionwere cries out

The Odionwere (eldest man) of Igolo community, Felix Egharevba, told NDV: “Last week alone, we experienced three attacks, and they kidnapped over eight people and released some after payment of ransom.

“The worst affected is Igolo community and I am the Odionwere, followed by Abumwenre 2. Bush and thick forest surround us in Igolo community, there is no single soul there; everybody had run away to safer communities while some are roaming the streets of Benin City, the state capital, with no help, no farm, no job, and no food.

“As the Odionwere, I am only lucky to have a little job that I am doing, some have died, parents have withdrawn their children from school, those who are sick and cannot afford medical bills, died.

“Some people from Abumwenre 2 are now in the IDP camp in Ohogua. The attacks are every 24 hours, and 48 hours, most of the people in these villages do not go to farms anymore.

”They lay ambush between Okoho and Adepain, they are always there because the communities there are in the forests, and sometimes, when the villagers are hungry, they take the risk to go to the farm and the herders attack them.

“They went to Ugbokhue twice and killed a lady there, while they shot another lady on the face. They now go from house to house and community to community and rob the people they see.

“We have reported to the police in the past two years, but nothing has come out of it. We have also protested, a former Attorney-General of the state, Osagie Obayuwana, led one protest last year. The former Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro promised to help, but within a few months of his resumption, they promoted and posted him out of the state, so he could not do much.”

SOS

The Odionwere lamented that there was little government presence in the affected communities, as Abumwenre and Iguoho have no school, while they constructed the earth roads through self-help.

“Government should help us in combing the bushes and removing them so that we can be safe. In my community for instance, we have existed over 1000 years, but go there now, the houses are down, they destroyed some, burnt some and vandalized others.

“Grasses have taken over everywhere, they should leave our crops and farms alone, and we never offended them. They would come, destroy our crops and go back, we go again to farm and when the crops are ripe again, they come to kill us, and use our crops to feed their animals.

“When they are coming, they come with cows in numbers, those following the cows will be few, and not armed. The armed attackers will follow them some yards away, when they enter somebody’s farm and the farmer tries to let them know why they should not do that, the armed ones will swoop on them, maim or kill them.

“Sometimes, they slaughter the person. What has made the case worse is that because of their activities, many people could not farm and ran away. That is why they have now resorted to kidnapping and collecting ransom.

How I escaped death —Villager

An anonymous Igolo villager said: “Hunger drove me back to the village from my hiding place to look for food. They met me when they came on that day and asked me what I came to do in my village when everybody had run away. I told them that hunger brought me and I need food to eat.

”They took me to the village square and said we have been going to the media to say Fulani are killing us, they said we are going to kill you to send a message to your Odionwere that we have just started. Tell them that Police pursued Fulani into the forest and we finished them.

“They moved me to the plantain plantation and started shooting, then brought out a sword that they would slaughter me. I started begging them, then they said if they take me to my house and find gun, they would kill me. They took me back to the house; four of them stood in front of my house, while one followed me inside, searched and found nothing. He was the one that signaled me to escape through the backyard which was how I escaped.”

Break away from my captors — Omobude

A victim, Austin Omobude, said the armed herders attacked him and his brothers close to the Power Line on their way from Okayan last week, saying that one jumped out from the bush with AK-47 rifle, and Idowu Omorogbe, riding the motorcycle, hit him.

“When we hit him, others lurking in the bush came out with AK-47 rifles and other weapons, and commanded that we follow them into the bush. We had to obey but after sometime, I escaped and they now pounced on my brothers.”

No solution yet

The state government, last year, established special military posts in some strategic places around the state, and promised support for the vigilante groups and hunters to curb kidnapping, which has led to the reduction of kidnappings in some previous hot spots, but this strategy seems not to be enough to resolve the security challenge. (Vanguard)

Update news