Christopher Oji

People of Ubulu-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, have raised the alarm over herdsmen’s siege on their homeland. The herdsmen have taken over the four roads connecting the farming community to its neighbours, namely, Isele-Uku-Ubulu-Uku, Ubulu-Unor-Ubulu-Uku, Obior-Ubulu-Uku and Onicha-Ugbo-Ubulu-Uku roads. 

The marauders have ambushed farmers and other road users, who they abducted and kept in the bush until ransom was paid. There is distress in the land now, as farmers no longer go to their farms for fear of either being killed, raped or abducted for ransom.

A medical doctor, Odozi, and a traditional titleholder, Chief Chikwe Ojinji, were killed, while many others, including a school principal, Mr. Augustine Eziashi, were kidnapped and ransom paid for them. Ubulu-Uku indigenes have, therefore, cried to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to urgently come to their aid.

In a recent attack, penultimate Friday, a businessman, Awele Udeh, narrated how he escaped death at the hands of herdsmen who attacked him and other occupants of his car between Ubulu-Uku and Isah-Ogwashi-Uku. Recuperating from the machete wounds he sustained from the attack, he said: “We were travelling from Ubulu-Uku to Asaba via Ogwashi-Uku. Suddenly, we saw ahead of us a fallen tree across the road. This was at Isa-Ogwashi, just before you enter Ogwashi-Uku. We thought it was the heavy rainfall that made the tree to fall.

“I was the one driving but when I got closer to the barricade, five men armed with machetes surrounded us and one of them wanted to destabilise me, he started using his machete to hit my vehicle. He was trying to kill me, and the other occupants used the chance to escape. I was trapped with the only female occupant, Victoria Okocha.

“I knew that my life was in danger. I tried to escape through the passenger side. Before I could come down, the man attacking me also ran to that side and as I stepped down he gave me a cut on my head. He gave me another cut on the back. The more I tried to run, the more he inflicted machete cuts on me.

“I pretended I was dead and he left me alone to join others in chasing two other occupants of the car. I crawled into the bush, where I saw Victoria being marched into the bush. I later passed out until I woke up, hearing voices of people shouting my name to come out that they were members of Ubulu-Uku vigilance group.

“I told them I was too weak to walk. They traced me to where I was. They took me to the Ogwashi-Uku Police Station where they obtained a police report, which they used in rushing me to the hospital. The police officers advised that we should go to private hospital for urgent medical attention.

“We went for a bachelor’s night party in preparation for a friend’s wedding on Saturday. Many people who attended the wedding came to the hospital. We were told that Victoria’s abductors were demanding N200,000 as the last negotiation for ransom or she would be killed by 3pm.

“We all decided to raise the money. We contributed the money and gave it to our youth leader, Enyi. He delivered the ransom to the herdsmen, who were armed with sophisticated guns. Few minutes after the ransom was paid, Victoria was released.

“I thank God that we all survived the attack. I was surprised to hear that the state Commissioner of Police said the attack did not happen. I am still nursing the wounds and Victoria and the vigilantes who took us to the hospital are still alive. I am still receiving treatment in hospital. Who gave us police report to the hospital if we did not report to them?”

Victoria also narrated her gory tale: “My name is Victoria Okocha. I am from Ubulu-Uku. We were travelling from Ubulu-Uku to Asaba via Ogwashi-Uku. Suddenly, we saw ahead of us a fallen tree across the road.

“This was at Isa-Ogwashi just before you enter Ogwashi-Uku. We thought it was the heavy rainfall that made the tree to fall. When we drove close, the person in the passenger’s seat in front of the vehicle said it seemed armed robbers had blocked the road.

“As we wanted to reverse, one of the attackers emerged from the bush, hit the window of the driver’s seat and tried to drag the driver out of the vehicle. Some other passengers jumped out and ran into the bush. I wanted to run but I developed muscle cramp and fell and that was how they got me. They took me into the bush that night.

“They were five in number. They later inflicted machete cuts on the driver of our car but he escaped with injuries. They demanded for N20 million ransom from me. I told them I am from a poor family that we cannot afford such amount. They threatened to cut my breasts and pluck my eyes, if my people refused to pay, saying that breasts and eyes give them more money nowadays.

Shortly after, I became friendly with their leader, who was the only one who could speak English among them. They threatened to rape me and five of them eventually took turns to rape me that night. My hands were tied, they blindfolded me and I was very weak and hungry.

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“I told them I have a family member I could call. I called the person who told them there was no way he could raise that amount. They reduced it to N5million but I begged them to accept anything even if it is N100,000. They said they would not release me without taking anything from me. They still threatened to cut my breasts and pluck out my eyes.

“I was with them in the bush for two days. Later my people were able to raise some money in N500 notes, which they dropped for them, according to their instructions. I did not know how much it was. They asked me if the money was fake and I told them it was real. Then I remembered I had N3,000 in N500 notes in my bag. I told them and they brought out my N3,000 and gave me back N1000.”

She added that they not only killed a victim in her presence but also roasted her body, which they later ate: “They offered me the blood of their victim to drink but I declined. They said they had no water to give me. They themselves were drinking the blood of the girl.

“After collecting my money, their leader said they wanted to kill me but he would help me to escape.

“He started giving them instructions in their Fulani language and all four left the place. I guess they went to fetch water because of what they were carrying. Then their leader untied me and asked me to run away.

“I ran and reached a road I didn’t know where it was leading to, but I saw a passing vehicle, stopped the driver and narrated my ordeal to them. They too had heard of the kidnap because they were from my town. They asked if I was the person kidnapped and I told them yes. That was how they helped back to my town. The kidnappers even pursued the vehicle when they saw us, but the driver sped off.”

Meanwhile, Ubulu-Uku people sent a save our souls (SOS) to IGP Adamu. A youth leader in the area, John Chukwuka, said: “We are predominantly farmers but we cannot go to our farms anymore because the armed herdsmen have taken over our farmlands.

“They now use us as their ATM. Anyone who goes to the farm does that at his or her own risk. The person will pay dearly for it. There is hunger in our once buoyant Ubulu-Uku. The Delta State Police Command seems to be overwhelmed, that is why we urgently want your intervention sir. If you can deploy your Intelligence Response Team (IRT) to fish the hoodlums out, we will be grateful.”

Journalists of Ubulu-Uku origin resident in Lagos want Adamu to investigate the increasing spate of violent attacks by suspected herdsmen and kidnappers on fellow citizens of their town. They condemned the widely reported attack on some indigenes along Isa-Ogwashi Road and the gang raping of the 23-year-old.

Acting under the auspices of Association of Ubulu-Uku Journalists in Lagos, its acting chairman and acting director of publicity, Mr Frank Oshanugor, Editor-in-Chief, Security Express magazine, and Chris Oji, respectively, said: “It has become very obvious that Ubulu-Uku is no longer safe for both indigenes and settlers.”

They recalled that when suspected Fulani herdsmen killed Mr Albert Chikwe Ojinji in 2019 on his farm, the police were expected to come to terms with the fact that Ubulu-Uku and environs had been infested with killer herdsmen among whom were kidnappers.

In 2010, an Ubulu-Uku indigene, Mr Nwafor Megbune-Iwelu, was similarly attacked on his farm by suspected herdsmen. The attackers, whose cows had ravaged Iwelu’s farm, left him for dead but he survived, though he lost the active use of his hands: “The association considers all these and incidents of kidnapping in Ubulu-Uku, at one time or the other, as unbecoming.”

The journalists called on the IGP, Governor Okowa and the Commissioner of Police to do everything in their power to track down Victoria Okocha’s kidnappers and rapists: “No stone should be left unturned in the police investigation with a view to stemming the tide of these unprovoked violent attacks.”

But the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, maintained that no such attack and rape happened. Police spokeswoman, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, said:

“The incident was never reported at any police station in Delta State. Investigation has been carried out and nothing of such happened. If the victim is certain about the authenticity of her story, she could have come forward with her complaint for investigation to be carried out.

“The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, Hafiz Inuwa, frowns at this bare-faced lies and has warned journalists to desist from heating up the polity and misleading the public with fake news. He enjoined residents to ignore the cock and bull story, remain calm and go about their normal businesses because the story in all its entirety is a hoax.”