By Rotimi Ojomoyela,
Oke Ako community in Ikole local government area of Ekiti State was, on Friday night, thrown into chaos after suspected herdsmen invaded the village, leaving two dead and several others wounded. An eye witness told journalists that the incident occurred at about 8:00 pm on Friday.
The eye witness, who identified herself as Mrs Grace Olofin, during a telephone chat, said the herdsmen stormed the community in large numbers, adding that the invaders were armed with guns, bows, arrows and machetes. Olofin said the villagers fled into the bush to escape the attack.
She said the invaders shot sporadically into the air and killed one Lekan Arosanyin and a yet to be identified person, while four others sustained injuries and were said to be receiving treatment at a private hospital in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
Another eye witness, Adebayo Ajayi, described the incident as a reprisal attack as he said the herdsmen had previously fallen out with the villagers over their grazing activities in the community. He explained that the villagers had been resisting the use of their farmlands as grazing fields by the herdsmen.
The Divisional Police Officer in the area confirmed the incident, noting that he could not ascertain whether the attack was armed robbery or herdsmen invasion.
Meanwhile, the villagers blamed the police in the area for failing to act swiftly when the case was reported to them.
One of the residents, Muyiwa Olukosi, whose wife sustained matchete wound, told newsmen that the police demanded for N12,000 before they could move to the scene as he said they complained of no fuel in their van. According to him, soldiers from the Nigerian Army, Akure were deployed to the village even before the arrival of the police in the area.
Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, visited the town, yesterday, saying the state government would take all necessary steps to avoid re-occurrence.
“We won’t allow strangers to destroy our lives and property at will. This is a sad development that we must tackle to ensure justice and peace reign in the state”, he stated.
Olusola, during a condolence visit to the bereaved Arosanyins, prayed God to be with the family
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/herdsmen-invade-ekiti-kill-two/
