By USMAN ALIYU

Calm has returned to seven warring communities after no fewer than 23 persons were feared dead with several others injured in an attacks in Ovia South West Local Government of Edo.

The affected communities included Marindoti, Gbelemontin Domiju, Kola Village, Taiye Camp, Eto Camp, Dipe Community, Bala Dele Community, and Thousand Community.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the settlements were predominantly inhabited by farmers from various ethnic backgrounds, including Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and Benin.

Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants, believed to be militants from nearby creeks, stormed the settlements early on Feb. 21, shooting indiscriminately, setting houses ablaze, and other properties.

The onslaught forced residents to flee en masse, abandoning their homes and livelihoods.

One of the witnesses described the attacks as a reprisal for the killing of a suspected cocoa thief by local vigilantes employed by the farmers.

This incident escalated existing tensions between the farmers and the alleged militants, who had previously been accused of encroaching on farmlands and stealing produce.

CSP Moses Yamu, Spokesman of the police command, said on Sunday, that operatives of the Iguobazuwa Police Division, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and the local Vigilantes had intervened.

Yamu said the police had evacuated the casualties to the hospital.

?The joint operation has restored peace to the communities.

?However, investigation into the cause of the clash has equally commenced.

?The Commissioner of Police, CP Betty Otimenyin, has vowed that no stone would be left unturned in order to unravel the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate and avoidable incident,? he said.

A NAN correspondent, who visited the scene, however, observed a mass exodus of displaced persons carrying their belongings, seeking refuge in safer areas.

Many homes were reduced to ashes, and the once-thriving farming communities now resembled ghost towns.

Speaking with NAN, Igbala Obazuaye, the head of Marindoti community, said they had been farming in the area for years, but trouble started for them when some youth began to demand for royalties from them.

?It started in 1998 when some youths began encroaching on our land, stealing our crops, and kidnapping our people, notwithstanding the payment of the royalties,? he said.

Obazuaye, who sustained bullet wounds, said the assailants evaded the community around 8 a.m. killing seven persons in his community alone.

According to him, the assailants burnt cocoa, kola nut and cash crops worth more than N20 million.

He appealed for the establishment of a police station, and assistance in rebuilding their communities.

Also, Nafisat Abdulazeez, a resident of Dipe community, described the experience as traumatic, calling for an immediate intervention of Gov. Monday Okpebholo.

She told NAN that no fewer than 15 persons were killed in her Dipe community, while several others had gone missing.

?They came into our community, shooting and burning houses. They killed 15 people, and many more were injured.

?They even burnt my own house, and my family was forced to flee,? she said.

A resident, Mr Joseph Otu refuted the claim that the attack was communal, saying it was unprovoked attacks by militants aiming to extort and terrorise peaceful farmers.

Otu also urged authorities to deploy security forces to safeguard the area, highlighting the communities? significant contributions to the state?s economy through the cultivation of crops like cocoa, kola nuts, and plantain.

On his part, Usman Mukaila of Dipe community, lauded the immediate deployment of men of the 4 Brigade of the Nigeran Army, Brig-Gen. Ebenezer Oduyebo, calling for an establishment of Army base in the area.

?We commend the Commander of the 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Benin, for the immediate intervention and deployment of soldiers.

?That has helped to calm the situation for now. If not for him, the rest people would have gone. We also thank the governor.

?We, however, urge him to bring a permanent Army base to this area. We really need his help. You can see all our women and children leaving,? he said. (NAN)

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