From Dan Maduagwu,
Umuahia
The former Chairman of Abia State Council of traditional rulers, HRM, Eze John Onuoha Akaliro has raised the alarm on activities of Fulani herdsmen in his community, Ozuitem and condemned the detaintion of five youths from his town by the Police.
He also revealed that violent herders have raped many women and chopped off the fingers of some of his subjects inside their farm for only protesting against the destruction of their farms by the Fulanis.
The Obasiukwu (1) of Umuobasiukwu kingdom in Bende LGA, stated this Thursday at his palace while narrating the ugly experience of his community to journalists, during a press briefing.
He explained that the Fulani herdsmen before 2015 lived in peace with their hosts, Ozuitem people but regretted that after 2015, the herders became violent, destroying farms and leaving the local farmers with no harvest. Eze Akaliro added that his community, being a peaceful town, wrote series of letters to the Police and the Department of State Security (DSS) on the Fulanis in his kingdom, which the two security agencies are aware of.
On the recent arrest of his subjects by the Abia State Police Command, Eze Akaliro explained that cows belonging to the Fulanis allegedly destroyed farmlands which prompted his community to write security agencies, adding that a date had been agreed for the herdsmen to pay compensation to Ozuitem farmers for their losses.
Eze Akaliro however pointed out that a few hours to the compensation to be paid by the said Fulanis, some cows belonging to the Fulanis were allegedly killed somewhere in Bende area which he said, was not carried out by his Ozuitem subjects.
The royal father further informed the press that he, together with another traditional ruler, Eze Emelike Ekebuisi accompanied the youths of their town on the Police Commissioner’s invitation, regretting that the youths numbering five were detained by the Abia State Police Command for five days. He demanded an end to open and night grazing in his community in line with Abia State government’s anti-grazing law, for a lasting peace and economic survival of his subjects to be achieved.
On the statement last week by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu that his administration paid the sum of N100,000 for any cow killed in Abia State, Eze Akaliro maintained that no compensation had ever been paid to Ozuitem farmers for their crops destroyed by cattle.
He further urged the Inspector-general of Police, Mohammed Adamu to be neutral in handling the problems of herdsmen in Abia State and the entire South East, as according to the Royal father. “He is the IGP of Nigeria, not the IGP of any particular tribe”
