Two days after the killing of a 36-year-old farmer, Sunday Ayeni, on his farm in Uba Oka, Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, another farmer, Joshua Gbadamosi, was gruesomely murdered on his farm in the area.
The killing of the 15-year-old Gbadamosi has heightened fear and tension in the agrarian community over the atrocities of the herdsmen in the area.
The young man from Odoro Quarters, Ifira, was said to have been killed at the Ogudu Farm Settlement by a suspected herdsman, while one young herder was apprehended in connection with the incident.
A source explained that the lifeless body of the deceased was found in his pool of blood by some farmers who raised the alarm.
It was gathered that the assailants allegedly macheted the young man to death and left him on the farm, saying his remains were discovered when he did not return from the farm.
He, however, said policemen from Isua Akoko visited the scene of the incident, recovered his body, and transferred it to the mortuary at Ipe Akoko General Hospital.
He said a joint team of police officers and Amotekun operatives who are combing the forest around the farm settlement arrested a 15-year-old herder, Farouk Adamu, in the bush.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmi Odunlami, who confirmed the incident, said a young man, Farouk Adamu, has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Odunlami said detectives from the command area are still combing the area to fish out the perpetrators.
It will be recalled that 36-year-old Ayeni was similarly slain on his farm in Uba Oka, while the residents of the community protested over the incessant killing and kidnapping in the area.
Traditional rulers and community leaders in the area have convened emergency meetings to address the escalating violence.
The Owa of Ogbagi Akoko, His Royal Majesty, Oba Victor Adetona Olasehinde, who also chaired the Akoko Divisional Council of Obas, decried the killings as “callous, wicked, and unacceptable.”
He lamented that the unchecked activities of the herdsmen are driving farmers away from their fields, jeopardising the region’s status as a critical food basket for the state.
Oba Adetona has urgently called on the government and security agencies to step up their efforts to restore peace and security in Akoko, warning that the continued neglect of the situation could have dire consequences for the community and beyond.
Meanwhile, the state commissioner of police, Abayomi Peter Oladipo, has visited the Uba/Eshimeri Akoko and Aduloju camps for an on-the-spot assessment of the killing of the farmers in the area.
Odunlami, who confirmed the visit in a statement signed by her, said, “On Sunday, 1100hrs, a case of murder was reported at Oka division that a young man who is a farmer went to the farm and did not return.
“A search party was sent to the farm to trace his movement but his corpse was discovered along the farm road path, with his intestines out and suspected to have bled to death from a stab.
“On the same day, the Sarki of Ikare Akoko also reported that youths suspected to be Uba Akoko indigenes attacked Fulani settlements at Aduloju camp.
“On this premise, the command swiftly deployed personnel from the divisions to intervene and to avoid an imminent crisis in the area.
“The CP, in the course of his visit, met with the people of the Uba community, sympathised with them on the death of their beloved son, and promised to bring to book the perpetrators, while he also met with the Fulanis in Aduloju camp and said that the arsonists would not be spared.”
Abayomi appealed to the two parties to maintain peace while the command was carrying out a detailed investigation and directed the Criminal Investigation Department to take over the case.
He also promised to meet with the governor and relate all discussed in the meeting, saying, “The command is using this medium to encourage the people of the state to always report the crime to the nearest police station and other security agencies within reach.”
ALSO READ THESE TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then