Several communities in the South East are under siege given to menace of Fulani herdsmen who kill, maim, abduct farmers (residents) and destroy their crops, houses and property with the devilish intention to possess their lands for their herds or possibly for permanent settlement. Thus, the people of South East, Delta, Ondo, Benue States are urging government to set aside politics, ethnicity, hatred and religion to curbing the menace which they frowned had bedeviled their families, kindred, villages and communities.
Over the years, helpless farmers (residents who are major targets) had lamented setbacks and food insecurity due to incessant fierce attacks by the suspected Fulani herdsmen who they accused of using dangerous and sophisticated weapons to chase them from their farms and communities and possess their lands with government obviously allegedly backing them.
Recently, a married young man was butchered by Fulani herders at Ihube community of Okigwe, just as two old men were separately killed at Orodo and Oguta communities of Imo State in their farms and on the road unprovoked and the culprits went scot- free as government and the military were said to have been shielding them.
Between 2008 and 2014, Fulani herders invaded Ihie community in Ohaji and killed scores of farmers who resisted them from destroying their farm products. The same ugly experience happened at Obitti community where herders attacked and raped a female university student, even after destroying farmers’ crops with their cattle. Till date, Fulani herders are still terrorizing farmers, destroying farms, scaring them from going to farm. Sadly, the government does practically nothing to curb the menace. Ngor- Okpala and some parts of Mbaise are also being devastated.
This ugly trend causes scarcity of food in Imo State.
The people had lamented their ordeal and demanded government’s intervention otherwise according to them they may be tempted to take laws into their own hands to safeguard themselves from attack, as well as protect their lands from being hijacked.
Meanwhile, the aggrieved farmers who spoke to News Echo through Iheka Christopher and John Okeka, recounted that “for more than 20 years, Obitti, Ihie, Umuapu and Awarra, communities who farm within the Imo Robber Estate (Obitti) where Fulani herdsmen mainly graze their cattle are always attacked and our crops eaten by their cows and lives being destroyed by stern herdsmen who value their cattle more than human beings, especially those who are not of the same race or religion (faith) with them”.
The people emphasized that because of the attacks and destruction of their farms they “no longer farm actively. And hunger is hitting many of us adversely. Many farmers at the area are now weakened and demoralized to farm. Cows would eat farm products as herders chase us out of the farms with dangerous and sophisticated weapons only to colonize and occupy the farmlands with government and security operatives doing practically nothing to salvage the situation.
“We have laid series of complaints to government and security operatives without any positive action as the Fulani herdsmen have since January, 2020, reinforced and life has been hard with us. Unless government wants us to take laws in our own hands we cannot just fold our hands while hunger and insecurity ravages us.
“It is appallingly degrading that army and police who guard oil company workers and their facilities patrol the area, but do nothing to sanction Fulani herdsmen who they are aware attack farmers and possess their lands. Their adamant disposition may not be unconnected to ethnicity, religion and race”.
The farmers recalled that “Fulani herdsmen, many years ago, invaded Ihie community, killed and maimed scores of persons and government did nothing to sanction them and this encourages them more to encroach our lands and destroy our farms as we experience today.
It is bad and saddening that the military and the police who surround our environments ignore us to be wiped out by Fulani herders terrorists. We are helplessly confused of all these absurdities. Other farmers and farmlands in Ohaji communities such as Mgbuishi, Mgbirichi, Abakuru, Ohoba, Umuagwo, Assa, Obile, Ochia, Obosima, Amafo, Umunwaku, Umuokanne among others have been under attack by Fulani cattle rearers too who we had earlier asked to leave our lands since they are bent to kill us all and possess our lands and enslave our women”.
Few years past, communities of Ideato North and South, Ihitte Uboma, Owerri West, Owerri North, Okigwe, Orlu, Onuimo, Oru East, Oru West, Mbaitoli and Ezinihitte Mbaise local government areas of Imo State were attacked and many natives were exterminated, maimed and property destroyed by Fulani herders who vehemently opposed their open grazing on their farmlands.
Negatively, the herders and farmers clashes experience at Orlu was so gory that many indigenes deserted the locality. Recounting the ordeal, a resident of Orlu who did not disclose her name for fear of the unknown, disclosed that, “on 25th January, 2021, there was a carnage at Orlu communities where Eastern Security Network (ESN) defending our people against Fulani herders invasion and attack clashed with the military who were shielding the herders. Innocent people including some Sabbath priests and their worshippers were wasted, maimed, kidnapped, arrested and detained in police cells, houses burnt, many displaced”.
Some media reported that the Orlu crisis was triggered by Fulani herdsmen, who forcefully encroached and occupied Orlu ancestral lands for grazing of their cattle, but were resisted and chased out by ESN operatives. “The federal government later deployed Air force men, foot soldiers and police, who threw bombs, grenades and other arsenals into Orlu, Oru East, Orsu, Ideato and the neighbouring Anambra communities in search of ESN operatives instead of combating the killer Fulani herdsmen who are allegedly backed by Miyetti Allah (the umbrella body of cattle breeders association of Nigeria), security agents and federal government”.
However, some concerned Imo indigenes have advised government to stop Fulani herdsmen from rearing their cattle in Igbo to avoid clashes, saying open grazing is illegal and should be seen as such.
An Imo State based journalist, Deacon Dan Opara, wholly “condemned the unlawful activities of Fulani herdsmen in the South East. They are terrorists who terrorize people with their illicit activity of open grazing”.
Sebastian Chuks, a native of Nwangele, Imo State, said he “totally condemned the killing and maiming of Igbo farmers right on their ancestral farmlands by Fulani terrorists masquerading as herdsmen. No right thinking person will accept that in a saner society, but the problem here is that federal government is alleged to be the one aiding them to continue with the evil acts in fulfillment of Buhari’s agenda to Fulanize and Islamize the Igbo”.
Blaming federal government for its nonchalance to the unrest perpetrated by Fulani herders, Senator Samuel Anywanwu, who represented Owerri Senatorial District in the Senate, had condemned the killings and the destructions of property by Fulani herdsmen and security agents in the South East and called for peace and tolerance.
Anyanwu, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Ikenna Onuoha, expressed worry at the rate of clashes between herders and farmers in the South East, even as he condemned the idea of open grazing in the South East.
Senator Anyanwu, therefore gave the nod for the establishment of ranches in various states. He maintained that the policy, when adopted would not only check the movement of mercenaries and infiltrators, but capable of fostering peace. Open grazing remains the cause of incessant communal crises in the country, leading to wanton killings and destruction of properties. Until the policy is played down, the country would continue to battle with insecurity. According to him, “I’m disturbed over the worsening Fulani herders and farmers crisis in Igbo enclave. Hence, I appeal to the federal government to assist the states to establish cattle ranches.”
“Open grazing is illegal and unconstitutional. If the 1969 statutory laws of the federation banned it, who else has the right to reintroduce it? Through open grazing, the South East has lost its innocent citizens to herdsmen who encroach on their farmlands and destroy crops with impunity. I totally stand against it. The only way to monitor these killer herdsmen and infiltrators in and around communities is to encourage the establishment of ranches. By so doing, the identities of every cattle rustler will be documented and checked for security reasons. On the other way round, ownership of ranch, be it public or private, no one, even government has the right to grab people’s lands without proper compensation in the name of building ranches”.
The former lawmaker had also regretted the manner in which top security chiefs of the Igbo were being retired whenever they were due to climb the highest security ladder, describing such as an orchestrated plot to silence the Igbo from the security architecture of the nation, advising South East governors to summon a security meeting involving stakeholders and community leaders in the zone, saying “such a meeting would address the issue of open grazing, which is targeted at grabbing people’s lands in negation to the constitution”.
In Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Rivers, Cross Rivers, Benue, Akwaibom, Edo, Delta, Ondo and Abia States, residents are living in fear given to the menace of Fulani herdsmen.
To this effect, Anambra indigenes have accused Governor Willie Obiano of being lackadaisical while Fulani herdsmen and security agents cause menace in their communities with scores of farmers being killed. They warned their leaders against the breach of peace, law and order while asking Fulani herdsmen to stop open grazing which they said is against the law.
For Michael Nwanna and Uchenna Ekeyi, “because Obiano is the worst governor in the political history of Anambra State that is why he does not get concerned as his citizens are being hacked to death by haters of Igbo race. Why can’t the police or the army arrest leaders of Miyetti Allah and charge them for rape, murder and vandalism of people’s farms and properties. Things are getting out of hand in South East. May God help us all”.
Regrettably, in June, 2017, the Fulani herders attack on Aku town of Igbo Etiti local government area of Enugu State had opened the community to other ills plaguing the area.
Lambasting the leaders of South East for being nonchalant over rising insecurity in their communities, lecturers with Federal University of Science and Technology Owerri (FUTO), Dan Chima Amadi and Appolonia Ifeyinwa Amadi, in their published work in ‘Journal on Humanities and Social Sciences’, said the region has “a lot to learn from the crisis bedeviling it. Just like the Ukpabia- Nimbo attack, Enugu State, a common ground needs to be found, but it has to be addressed in line with its global, political and religious implications”.
Reports credited to some anonymous natives of Enugu State, stated that Nimbo “is a border town of Uzo- Uwani areas of Enugu State, where seven villages: Ekwuru, Nimbo- Ngwoko, Ugwuijoro, Ebor, Enugu- Nimbo, Umuome and Ugwuachara were invaded and scores were massacred by over 500 armed Fulani herdsmen who were rated as the fourth deadliest terror groups in the World- in the early hours of April 25, 2016.
Notably, “Uzo- Uwani shares boundaries with the Southern States of Ebonyi and Anambra and Central States of Benue and Kogi where these attacks have increased lately. Roaming terrorists have reportedly terrorized, occupied lands, raped, kidnapped, murdered over 100 of people across the farming communities of South and North Central States in 2016. Apart from waste of human lives, the herders also kidnap for ransom”.
According to the Enugu State natives, most villagers who are predominantly farmers had abandoned their homes and fled to Nsukka and Aku in Igbo Etiti, Enugu, for safety. “Even many days after the attack, the people of Nimbo and neighbouring community of Abi were still seen leaving their communities in droves, as they were not sure of their safety”.
A man who lost his brother to the attack, Obata Nnadozie, a native of Ebor community of Nimbo, narrated that Fulani cattle rustlers “stormed after the local vigilante had left to refresh. Someone gives them information on when the vigilante is around or had left”.
“The first victim, Eze Sylvanus”, Obata, continued, “was on his way to the farm that ill- fated morning when he was slaughtered like a ram and they went ahead to harvest his heart which they eventually made away with”.
Media reports also have it that a high profile abduction cases associated to herdsmen including that of Chief Olu Falae “who was traced to his farm, kidnapped in his farm at Ilado, Ondo State, in January 5, 2016….to be continued.
