THE people of Egbede community in the Ogba/Egbrma/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State have cried out over the continued invasion of their farmlands by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
They alleged that one of their sons, 26-year-old Nonye Nwa-Omoku, was shot dead by a herdsman in the community last Thursday without any provocation.
An eyewitness, who claimed he escaped death by the whisker, said the incident occurred in the evening, when they saw a herder approaching their direction.
According to him, “We don’t even know what happened; we just saw the Fulani man coming towards us. Next thing, he shot at my direction, I dodged,
“He was now asking, where is that my brother. He followed him and shot him two times. My brother fell. We didn’t do anything to him,” he lamented.
Speaking, a relative of the disease, Confidence Wellington, said the residents, who were mainly farmers, were now afraid of going to their farmlands as a result of the incident.
“Fulani herdsmen have been threatening our people to our farmlands. If my people have farmlands of let me say 200 kilometers, Fulani herdsmen have taken over 107 kilometers,” Wellington said.
The Youth President of Egbeda community, Ifeanyi Ezeocha, condemned the activities of the herdsmen in the area, but urged the people not to take the law into their hands.
The spokesman for the state police command, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident, saying the CP had ordered an investigation with a view to bringing anyone found culpable to justice.
PANDEF demands S’South security outfit
Meanwhile, the Pan Niger Delta Forum has called on governors in the South-South region to fast-track the establishment of a security outfit in order to help protect the area against further attacks by marauding herdsmen.
The National Publicity Secretary of PANDEF, Ken Robinson, stated this while reacting to the killing of a youth, Nonye Nwa-Omoku in Egbede community, Rivers State, allegedly by a suspected herdsman last week.
Robinson said, “We will use this opportunity to again call on the South-South governors to fast-track the process of establishing a regional security outfit, as other regions have done.”
