Ondo Residents Leave In Fear Of Deadly Herdsmen Assaults
Residents of Ijagba, Imoru, and Arimogija in Ondo State’s Ose Local Government Area have expressed concern about the frequent attacks on their communities by alleged killer-herdsmen.
Residents, largely farmers, said in a ‘Save Our Souls’ appeal to the Ondo state government that the killer-herdsmen had been terrorising the villages for over two weeks, killing and damaging properties worth millions of naira.
According to reports, the herders had been damaging farmlands and crops like yam, maize, and cassava in the affected areas in Ondo State, and if farmers objected, they would assault them.
On Wednesday, a source in one of the Ondo communities said that the herdsmen who had usually kidnapped the community’s members for ransom had told them not to go near their fields and local plantation.
As a result, many locals, according to the source, had abandoned their houses and evacuated from the impacted communities to surrounding towns and villages in Ondo in fear of additional attack.
“They recently invaded a house in Ondo state and kidnapped a young girl just hours after they freed a man from their captivity after collecting a ransom that was bargained from N10 million to N1 million,” the source added.
“Some residents of the towns in Ondo have fled the area in dread of the attacks. We want the government and the police to come to our aid in this matter.”
In response, the monarch of Imoru town, Oba Rotimi Obamuwagun, confirmed the continuous invasion of illegal herders, who he claimed always infiltrated the towns through a forest reserve between Ondo and Edo States.
He did, however, praise the Ondo state government for being aggressive in repelling bandits and defending the people.
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“It is true that criminals are infiltrating our neighbourhoods with zeal. Without the intervention of the Ondo state government, the criminals would have sacked all of the communities here and forced everyone to flee their homes. But we appreciate the government’s intervention.”
In response, Alhaji Jimoh Dojumo, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Security Matters, stated that individuals attacking the communities and villages were not from Ondo State, but from the neighbouring state of Edo, and that the government was already taking action against them.
He added that criminals frequently enter the state via pathway into communities and villages, and then exit via the same path back to their home state after committing the crime.
“They (killer-herdsmen) have been causing issues for us in Ondo state, but our region is secure with the presence of Amotekun men, but I can guarantee you that the activities of these criminals will be checked shortly,” Dojumo said.
“However, we will not desist in our efforts to flush out criminal elements from Ondo state in order to safeguard the safety of our people’s lives and property.”
Funmilayo Odunlami, the state police spokeswoman, stated that the command had not been notified of the occurrence and that officers would be deployed to the areas to determine the true nature of the events.
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