Etsako East LGA boss bemoans incessant killing in domain

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The Chairman of Etsako East Local Government Area (LGA) in Edo State, Princess Benedicta Attoh, has lamented the spate of killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen and militias across the council area, decrying the situation that has “turned Etsako East to a killing field.”

Her remarks were spurred by recent attacks in the locality, particularly on Tuesday, when at least three people were “slaughtered in Okpekpe community,” while seven others were macheted in Itsukwi community. The victims, who were reportedly attacked on their farmlands, left other residents in fear, with those who escaped “putting the entire communities under panic.”

“My people are being massacred like goats,” Attoh stated. “Every day, you hear that five or four people were killed. We cannot have the exact number of those who have been killed because some of the corpses are still in the bush and yet to be discovered. No axis is safe in our land both roads and farms. This was exactly what happened in Agenebode where the youths retaliated that led to the burning down of the police station, killings and destruction of properties a few weeks ago.”

According to Attoh, “The youths should now be allowed to defend their land. We are calming them down to forestall another fierce battle but higher authorities must be seen to be leading from the front.”

She also expressed her frustration with the Federal Government’s “ambivalent stance” on the attacks, which she said have already “cost too many lives in the area.” Urging decisive action, Attoh stated, “It is time to tackle this high-level insecurity by deploying military in parts of the bush and farm areas to give the farmers an immediate sense of safety in their farmlands.”

Attoh reiterated that the Federal Government has a primary duty to “secure the lives and property of every citizen,” emphasizing that “Etsako East is on fire. Killing and kidnapping are taking place daily and our youths are willing to defend themselves, their families, and their land. Their patience has run out so the government should be ready to accept the outcome of their action should they fail to provide protection.”

“Nobody will fold his or her hands watching their family members killed in a gruesome manner daily like goats on their farmlands,” she warned.

She further lamented that going to the farm had become a death sentence in Nigeria, as killing had become a way of life without appropriate action taken against the herdsmen.

Attoh, therefore, called on the National Assembly to legalise self-defence for every community to protect themselves.

Reacting to the incident, the traditional ruler of Okpekpe community in the North Ibie Zone of the LGA, where three farmers were slaughtered on their way to their farms and seven others were macheted in a nearby community, HRH Peter A. Osigbemeh, called on the Federal and Edo State governments to establish forest rangers to guard the forest. He suggested empowering local vigilantes and hunters with necessary security gadgets to enable them to take charge of their forest and defend themselves.

According to the traditional ruler, “The current madness has gone beyond the mere establishment of security agencies and networks.

“Security should be deployed to the forest because our problems are in the forest and not in the land, and the police can’t manage this.

“We need forest rangers who will permanently be based in the forest to enable farmers to freely go to their farms. If the Federal Government and the state fail to do this, then they should be able to explain to the masses if they have what they are benefiting from the daily killing and herdsmen madness. This is now madness, no more normal,” the monarch lamented.

Osigbemeh also called for immediate compensation for forest rangers so that each community in Etsako East could set up its own forest rangers to stay in the forest and protect their land.

“We are not asking them to come and guard us; we can guard ourselves. Just give us arms and a compensation method for those to be in the bush.

“This problem of insecurity would have been resolved if it was handled in collaboration with the locals. This has been the missing link, and if the Federal Government and the state government continue with the archaic method of securing the masses, they will never get it right,” the monarch insisted.

The monarch, who lamented over the unprovoked killing of innocent farmers, wondered “if it has become a crime for farmers to seek their livelihood. The entire community has been thrown into weeping and fear, as farmers can’t go to the farm after yesterday’s killings.

“Many of the villages are now empty, as the herders are now chasing people away from their villages and homes and taking over. We can’t continue to wait for the Federal Government because they have all the military but have refused to deploy them to the bush.

“Our insecurity problems are in the bushes and not in the town. Keeping the military in the town when the bush is in trouble shows unseriousness. Since the herders stay in the bush, we must also be ready to stay in the bush with them so that the towns can be safe for humans to dwell,” he added.

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