Obinna Odogwu, Awka
A middle aged woman whose name was given as Agnes Okekpe has been raped to comma by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ebenebe community, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The woman, who hails from Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, was hired by a farmer in the community to harvest some crops in their farmland before two herdsmen who came with herds of cattle swooped on her and raped her till she lost consciousness. This was even as farmers in the community are counting their losses amounting to several millions following the invasion of their farmlands by the herds of cattle which also grazed on their crops.
Sources in the village told Saturday Sun that the herdsmen hit the woman with a log of wood, rendered her weak and unable to raise the alarm, before having carnal knowledge of her in turns until she lost consciousness. They also alleged that the suspects took her N16,000 which the victim had tied to her cloth.They narrated that the victim’s colleagues ran back to the town to alert the residents and was found lying helplessly at the scene of the incident when the villagers stormed the farmland in their numbers. Confirming the development, the President-General of the community, Hon. Paul Nnatuanya, told Saturday Sun that the herdsmen also destroyed farm crops worth several millions. He lamented that crops belonging to many farmers in the community were affected.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Haruna Mohammed, said that the police command got reports about the destruction of crops by cattle led by herdsmen but said that it does not have any report alleging that herdsmen raped any farmer.
“There was no such complaint. The issue on ground in Ebenebe was the alleged destruction of crops by some herdsmen and the alleged losses incurred by herdsmen. That was why the committee on cattle menace visited the scene to do an on-the-spot assessment”, he said.