Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The agrarian community of Umumbo in Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State has cried out to Governor Willie Obiano to rescue its residents from Fulani herdsmen’s attacks.
The leaders said they had been holding their youths from going on the rampage against the herdsmen who were unleashing terror on their people, raping women and robbing law- abiding resident.
The traditional ruler of Umumbo community, Igwe Simeon, Ikechukwu Chidubem, who disclosed this during the commissioning ceremony of JOSAN Giant Rice Mills, a subsidiary of Joseph Agro Industries Limited located at Umumbo, appealed to the governor to make haste to rescue his people before it was too late.
Chidubem gave instances of the herdsmen waylaying a woman on her way to the farm, dispossessing her of her phone, a huge sum of money she just collected from a monthly group contribution and other personal effects and even wanted to rape her before sighting a motorcyclist and then fled into the bush.
He also recalled how two herdsmen hired a commercial motorcyclist to convey them from Umumbo to Otuocha and on their way, they forcefully diverted him to a bush at Igbariam and dispossessed him of his motorcycle and other personal effects, shooting at him and inflicting machete injuries on him before fleeing.
The monarch disclosed that he had even summoned leaders of the Miyetti Allah in the area to his palace to discuss the matter and find a lasting solution before the youths could weigh in on the matter.
The President-General of Umumbo Town Union, Chief Tony Nnaamah, in his address appealed to Governor Obiano to intervene and caution the herdsmen to avoid a bloody clash with the youths of the community.
He lamented that the community whose residents are predominantly farmers, usually watch helplessly as the herdsmen’s cattle eat up their crops, warning that if the trend continued, he might no longer guarantee the continued quietude of the youths in the area.
Governor Obiano in his response, appealed to them to exercise patience as the herdsmen were gradually leaving the East in batches, adding that within some time, they would have all left with their cattle.
He, however, disclosed that a standing agreement between the state government and the herdsmen showed that any farm produce destroyed by the cattle would be paid for by the herdsmen, while any cattle killed would be paid for by the villagers.