BARELY three
weeks after a community in Arochukwu council of Abia State was invaded and
attacked by Fulani herdsmen, another community, Ozu Item in Bende
council was
again attacked with scores of farmers sustaining life threatening injuries.
Crops worth
several thousands of naira belonging to Ozu Item farmers were also destroyed by
the herdsmen and their cattle.
Current
Secretary to Abia state Government (SSG), Dr. Eme Okoro is from the community
and he has roundly condemned the invasion and attack.
The attacks
by herdsmen in the state seemed to have defied solution from both the state
government and the police in state.
Some victims
of the deadly attack were taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia
while several others were taken to private hospitals for treatment.
At the
Federal Medical Centre, one of the victims, Mr. Sunday Oru, 40, who had a
fractured right arm and chopped fingers was still wreathing in pains at the
accident and emergency ward.
Oru told
reporters that the herdsmen invaded their farmlands, plundered their crops
including rice, cassava, okro and plantain and fed their cattle with them.
He alleged
that thousands of cattle were led into Ozu Item community by herdsmen and when
the farmers confronted them and asked them to leave the community, they ignored
them and invaded their farms.
He alleged
that the herdsmen “vowed that instead of being expelled from our community,
they will conquer us and occupy our community.”
He explained
that it was after the herdsmen invaded a rice farm on Thursday morning and
youths and farmers went to expel them that they attacked the people, inflicting
injuries on them.
“ We are not
civil servants. We are farmers and our crops are very important to us but the
cattle are destroying everything”, Oru lamented.
When
contacted, the state police command confirmed the attack but insisted that they
were on top of the situation. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the
command, Nta Ogbonnaya Nta said “the police is on top of the situation”.
However, the
Abia SSG, Dr. Eme Okoro who hails from the attacked community lamented that the
herdsmen have become very audacious in the attacks.
According to
him, “there is no Bende community that the Fulani herdsmen have not invaded.
Ozu Item has come under attack by Fulani herdsmen”.
According to
Dr. Okoro, three days before the attack, he had alerted the Assistant Inspector
General of Police in charge of Zone 9 Umuahia, Hosea Karma and he promised to
send the state commissioner of police, Leye Oyebade, but said he wouldn’t know
“if the police are handicapped” since the herdsmen successfully launched the
attacked.
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