From Tony John,  Port Harcourt

The People of Ogoni have raised the alarm over the spate of encroachment on their farmlands by armed herdsmen, who brazenly destroyed their cultivated crops.

This was contained in a statement issued yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by the GboKabaari Ogoni, the Ogoni Elders’ Forum, signed by the Chairman, Monday Abueh, and Secretary, Desmond Nbete.

In the statement, the signatories said they were compelled to cry out following the militarisation of Ogoniland, which has undermined the livelihood of the natives.

“The GboKabaari Ogoni, the Ogoni Elders’ Forum,  are compelled to raise this urgent alarm on the menacing encroachment on farmlands in some Ogoni communities by armed herdsmen who brazenly graze cows on cultivated crops.

“Not only does this act threaten public peace and security in the affected communities, it also undermines the livelihood and, thus, threatens the very existence of a sizeable population of our people and presages violent clashes and, God forbid, loss of lives and more property if it is not nipped in the bud.

Related News

“For the past weeks, armed Fulani herdsmen have occupied vast areas of farmlands under effective cultivation in the Ogoni communities of Baa Luekun, Kpaa, Seme Luekun and Dae in Khana Local Government Area and Eteo in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State,” they said.

According to the group, Ogoni people have deserted their farmlands for fear of being killed by the Fulani herdsmen, who equipped themselves with sophisticated weapons like AK-47.

“The invaders, armed with sophisticated weapons, especially the dreaded AK-47, some of which are strapped to their cows, have driven away farmers from their farmlands, forcibly occupied the farmlands and are grazing their cows on cultivated crops.

“We are particularly concerned by the fact that when resisted and confronted by community leaders and representatives of our people, they threatened mayhem and even boasted that the powers-that-be and the security agencies are aware of their presence, and would decisively deal with our people if further confronted.

“With some sense of deja vu, when we became aware of arrangements by HYPREP for the drafting of soldiers to Ogoni communities, ostensibly to provide security services for the Ogoni clean-up and remediation project, we vigorously protested against the plan via letters to both the vice president and the minister of environment.

“We saw the planned militarisation of our land as a ploy with some sinister motives since we could not understand why such militarisation would be needed for a clean-up exercise that we, as a people, enthusiastically want to be properly carried out to save our lives and environment. The current invasion by armed herdsmen and their boast of being protected by security agents now seems to justify our worst fears,” the elders said.