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The Ondo State Police Command says it has laaid investigations have been launched into the deadly attack on Tuesday by herdsmen in Ajegunle Powerline, in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
Residents reported that five persons were shot dead by the rampaging herdsmen who were armed by automatic weapons.
aIt was learnt that the victims were farm labourers who came down to the community from Plateau and Kaduna States.
The corpses of the victims at the UNIMEDTH in Akure
One of the farmers affected, Akin Olowolafe, told journalists in Akure that the incident occured on Tuesday evening.
“These Fulani herdsmen killed five of our labourers. This is how they (herdsmen) usually come to disturb and destroy our crops and we have reported them to the state government and even to the security agencies but no positive actions were taken from these security agencies to stop the Fulani herdsmen activities on our farmlands,” he said.
“The hwrdsmen entered the farmlands on Tuesday as we were working and they started shooting sporadically in the air and killed five people during the attacks.”
Mr Olowolafe said besides the herdsmen destruction of farms, they were also carrying out armed robbery on a daily basis.
He said the occurrences were becoming unbearable as efforts to check the gunmen.
He said that many farmers in the community had fled their farms for fear of being killed saying the incessant clashes and destruction of farm crops were so worrisome and it had led to abandonment of the farms.
According to him, with the development, the economic survival of the Ajegunle Powerline community was being threatened with the gradual reduction in crop production.
The farmer also alleged that the herdsmen were raping their females at the farms and would go ahead to kill any man who challenge them.
Mr Olowolafe urged the State Government under the leadership of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the security agencies to intervene and save them from constant attacks by Fulani herdsmen.
Another farm hand, identified as Fidelis Daniel, who also spoke on the incident said; “They came around 3pm on Tuesday to destroy our farms and we have warned them not to come to our farmlands again but they didn’t hear, and when they came they just started shooting and killed five of our people that we just brought to the mortuary now.
“I was inside the farm too when the incident happened, I just heard the sound of guns, and I immediately ran to the house. It was even God that saved me too they would have killed me.
“They suddenly came with weapons to destroy our crops and killed five people. Three people from Plateau State and two from Kaduna State.”
Mr Daniel also called on the Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, the Commander of the State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), Adetunji Adeleye and other relevant security agencies to take proactive security measures that will put an end to the daily attacks.
Members of the Hunters and Vigilante Association in Akure North helped in conveying the corpses to the morgue of the State University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Akure Complex.
The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, confirmed the incident.
She said, “There was an attack on the community, and police is still investigating.
“But I cannot confirm the number of people that were killed.”
In July last year, herdsmen were reported to have attacked operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, otherwise known as Amotekun Corps, in the Igoba community in the Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The operatives were attacked while enforcing the anti-open grazing law operational in the state.
The law forbids herders to graze their cattles in certain areas of the state, empowering Amotekun to enforce the law.
Despite the successes recorded by the agency, the dry season has forced the herders to move out to prohibited areas in search green pastures and sometimes invading farms and violently effective damage to crops and humans.