• Pregnant woman murdered in cold blood in Ekiti

Wole Balogun, Ado-Ekiti

Fulani herdsmen are on rampage in Ekiti State. In process, they allegedly violated the state anti-grazing law with impunity.  Residents are wallowing in agony as they recounted the sorrow the herdsmen spread by destroying many hectares of farmlands with midnight open grazing and setting crops on fire.

Two Fulani herdsmen in Orin-Ekiti, Ido/Osi Local Government Area, identified as Baje and Nomotu were accused by natives of Benue State residing in the area, of allegedly shooting dead a 26-year-old pregnant woman and mother of three, Myuga Yakpe, at about 1am on Thursday, January 18, 2018.

The widower, Felix, 37, said: “The assailants came at about 1am that day. They wanted to force the door open but I prevented that by blocking the door. They shot severally into our room through the roof and the door and it eventually hit my poor wife who was heavily pregnant with our fourth child. Our firstborn is 12, I am very sad and poor. I do not deserve this from Fulani herdsmen.”

Baje and Nomotu were handed over to security operatives by Governor Ayodele Fayose when they showed up during a recent meeting with affected farmers and herdsmen at the Governor’s Office, ado-Ekiti.

Other affected farmers also told tales of woes. Tope Adigun, a journalist with the state Ministry of information, owns four hectares out of the 10 hectares of Castor plantation, is estimated at N50 million, at Ago Aduloju farm settlement in the outskirts of   Ado-Ekiti.He is saddened that the herdsmen deliberately set the castor plantation on fire:

“The first episode of fire was on the December 26, 2017 where over four hectares of the farm got burnt. I had thought it was an accident but the last episode, which occurred on January 19, 2018, proved that it was never an accident.

“The remaining 5.5 hectares was destroyed by fire and I even met herdsmen and their cattle grazing on the part of the farm that was burnt some three weeks earlier. By this time, grasses had started growing there and that I believe is the major reason they put fire on the farm.

“Another reason why I feel they destroyed the farm is because of the poisonous nature of the castor plant. I own four out of the 10 hectares that got burnt. The worth of the farm destroyed is about N50million and this tragedy happened when harvest should be at the peak.”

Mrs. Bamidele Bukola, also a civil servant lost three hectares of the castor plantation, which she had secured with her savings of many years to the fire by the heartless herdsmen:

“Right now, I cannot cry nor weep. I am just shocked that I could lose all those huge savings for so many years to some mindless herdsmen searching for meal for their cattle. I am really shocked and sad.”

The same tale of woes was recounted by Mrs. Funmilayo Ogunleye who claimed she lost an hectare of the castor plantation on the same farmland, Mr. Tosin Olaniyi, another civil servant lost another one and both Tope Agboola and Kehinde Adeleye who jointly lost another hectare that brought the number of the hectares in Ago Aduloju castor plantation to 10.

Twenty five-year-old James Moses, a native of Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State, residing with his parents in Orin-Ekiti farm settlement told Daily Sun:

“At about midnight on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, I was already sleeping in my room, when I suddenly noticed someone flashed a torch light into my room through the window. He called out to me and I demanded to know who he was but he didn’t mention a name. I stood up from bed and saw another man used a gun to raise the curtain of the door of my room.

“At that time I looked out and discovered it was a known face who is Nomotu, a herdsman in our reserve. My instinct told me to struggle with him and disarm him but while I was trying to do so, another man attacked me from behind with a machete. That was when I pushed that other assailant away and ran for my life.

“While I was running away, I heard Nomotu called out to my other assailant saying Baje! Baje!! He shot several times at me but I escaped and ran into the bush nearby to hide.

“ In my hideout, I could hear the assailants attacking my mother. They demanded for her money but she said she didn’t have any. They eventually ransacked her room and took away about N50,000 under her bed. They also made away with her soup and garri in the house.

“Baje is one of Alhaji Mohammed Abashe’s sons. Abashe is the Serikin Fulani in Ekiti. Prior to this tragic development, Abashe’s cattle had destroyed my farmland and he was made to pay for the spoils then.”

Olawale Olakanmi, a graduate farmer in Orin-Ekiti claimed that on several occasions, his 200-hectare farm was ravaged by grazing cattle of Fulani herdsmen:

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“Elders of Orin-Ekiti have on several occasions summoned the Serikin Fulani of Ekiti, Alhaji Abashe to meetings where both farmers and herdsmen whose cattle are destroying the farmlands would meet for reconciliatory parley being presided over by the leaders, but Abashe had failed to attend these meetings.

“The destruction of farmlands by Fulani herdsmen has been going on in Orin for the past 10 years now. What is more painful is that I noticed as a youth corps member serving in Jigawa State some years ago, these same Fulani herdsmen had their cattle grazing on farms there but they weren’t destroying the crops on those farms as they only ensured the grazing affected the weeds or grasses around the crops. You then wonder why the herdsmen allow the same grazing to destroy our crops on farmlands here in the South West.

“My first bitter encounter with the herdsmen is the destruction of my plantain farm which I had invested over N60,000 savings from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Jigawa. Later, other crops such as yams, cassava and cocoa which I planted on about 200 hectares of farmland were destroyed by the cattle of the herdsmen during their grazing. There were instances where the herdsmen would uproot the cassava and cut them in pieces to feed their cattle.

“Several reports we made to Abashe their leader were rebuffed. Some of our people, many of whom are young farmers like me were also affected. It got to a point we cried to the leaders of the community and demanded that we don’t want Abashe and his cattle and other herdsmen working with him in the community any longer.”

Following Benue State massacre of 73 people, there was a security tip-off of influx of some yet-to-be identified Fulani Bororo into Ekiti Farm Reserves. Fayose summoned all parties involved to a meeting, which lasted for several days.

Affected farmers and leaders of the Fulani herdsmen in such communities as Aramoko-Ekiti, Orin, Ido, and Ago Aduloju communities were present including the anti-grazing marshals employed by government to work with security operatives to enforce the anti- grazing law in the state. Abashe on whose neck many allegations of farm destruction by his cattle were hanging and whose son, Baje, alongside others, was accused of attacking Benue natives in Orin-Ekiti and allegedly killed the deceased pregnant woman was also present. Equally heeding the summons of the governor were the two accused by Moses, Baje and Nomotu. When asked to tell their side of the story on the allegations of armed robbery, destruction of farmlands and killing leveled against them, the three of them denied ever committing armed robbery and killing but pleaded guilty to destroying some farmlands and crops. They begged the governor to temper justice with mercy and promised to tame the cattle.

But one of the government employees as anti-grazing marshal, Daniel, a Fulani who apprehends culprit Fulani herdsmen, urged the governor not to spare the rod, alleging that some herdsmen have a way they command their cows to attack farmlands and humans.

Abashe told the governor that many of those accusing him and his son, Baje, of the crimes were his enemies. He explained that he was once being hinted by kidnappers who collected N9 million from him to get his freedom: “This explains the why I did not attend the meetings called by the community who complained that their farms were destroyed. I don’t know about the killing but I want to beg the governor and the people to forgive me on the destruction of farms. Right now, I can only vouch for my family and those working for me. I can’t stand in for other herdsmen in Ekiti.”

Fayose pardoned Abashe but warned: “If you (Fulani herders) still want to stay among us, you must accept the responsibility to ensure that none of our peoples’ farms is destroyed by herdsmen any longer. None of our people must be killed by your men, either they are strangers or those herdsmen living among us.

“If any killing or destruction of farms of our people occurs again in that area, I will ensure that I use the law to fight you their leader on it. This is the last warning I am giving you.

“This killing is giving Fulani people a bad name. If there were no good people among them, how would General Buhari rise to be president? There are doctors, lawyers, engineers and other notable professionals among you. This is denting their names. The greatest of men are the peacemakers.

“Even though President Buhari does not send people to kill, it is spoiling his name. We are to make sure the killing stops.

“We won’t be intimidated by the terror of the few. The moment you are caught, you will face the law. The killing by Fulani is worse than Boko Haram. We want one Nigeria because we have gone far. Anyone harbouring criminals will not know peace. Enough is enough! Life is sacred and must be treated as such.

“I am calling on the Federal Government to be firm, when actions are taken against these mindless individuals, this killing will stop. It is because they are taking it like a family affairs; this is not in the interest of Nigeria. Ordinary Nigerians can’t carry AK47 or pump action.

“Many of the Fulani herdsmen who settled down here did so without permission from anyone. No one can be living with us and we – their host – would not know who they are.

“They said some are strangers who only come briefly but we don’t want that. Now, they would register with government for a token of N5,000. It is not their money that we need but their identity and locality. The sum of N5,000 would be renewable after a year.

“We are sending a bill to the state assembly which would be that anyone caught and found guilty of harbouring dangerous Fulani herdsmen would be jailed five years without an option of fine. I urge every resident in Ekiti to report anyone or stranger who is suspected to be a killer Fulani herdsman.”

The governor handed over some of the accused herdsmen and the victims to security operatives for further investigations. He rejected the idea of cattle colonies as proposed by the Federal Government. He insisted that Nigeria as a federal state comprising of many federating units could only tackle the challenge of herdsmen menace by a collaborative effort of the various state governments and leaders of the people at the local government level.

“This country needs to be properly restructured such that each federating unit can effectively tackle the challenges of security, economic advancement, infrastructural development and resources control by itself and in it’s own peculiar way. The central government cannot handle the complexity and enormity of such challenge that needs a holistic grassroots approach.”