From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
There is tension in Uwheru Kingdom, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State where suspected herders have allegedly invaded the community again to over run farmlands.
About a year ago, ravaging herders seized the community by the jugular, visiting it with devastating attacks which left many dead.
Following that vicious attacks, the community stopped the consumption of cow meat.
But in the latest invasion, a suspected herder was apprehended in a bush by indigenes who handed him over to the police in the Ughelli A division.
Narrating their ordeal, President General of the kingdom, Macpherson Egbedi, said the suspect and other fleeing herders were found destroying their farmlands on Thursday.
“If you can remember when they came last year, they killed 10 people and mass burial was done for them; everyone was aware of of it, even the state government was aware and they said they will not come again.
“This time they have come and started the same way of destroying our crops again, killing people and raping women in the bush .
“We want the government to come to our rescue because there is nothing we can do, they came with their guns and mercenary, there is nothing we can do, we cannot fight, we don’t have power to fight them.
“Even the one we caught, we brought him as an evidence for the government to know that they are already in the bush trying to do the same way they have been destroying crop and killing our people.
“We caught this one with effort of the entire community and any moment they will over power everybody and the same destruction will take place and starvation.
“There will be no food, nothing they will do, all the women will stop going to farm, we want the government to come to our aid.
“When they came yesterday (Thursday) they came with over 30,000 cows and you can imagine when 30,0000 cows pass through your farmlands, you will know what they have destroyed.
“They have been coming in batches since last week, they entered through Patani, through our main town here and they have occupied all our bush in Uwheru community.
“We have notified the government about it, the DPO Ughelli ‘A’ Division is aware, Ughelli Area Commander is aware that herdsmen have entered our bush again,” he said.
Secretary Uwheru Traditional Council , Benjamin Ohworeko, said: “Fulani herdsmen issue is a yearly ritual, they come annually and they are here once more.”
At the time of filing this report, residents of Port-Avwon, a village in Uwheru kingdom, were seen fleeing the community over fear of herdsmen attack.
Contacted, Public Relations Officer of the state police command, DSP Bright Edafe, said no Fulani man was arrested.
He said the community reported that they had issues with some herders, adding that during a fracas, the Fulani people ran away, abandoning a child.
“They took the child to the police station. On interrogating the child, it was discovered that he was not Fulani but Ijaw person and they have located the parents of the child and the child was released to them,” Edafe said