Four Fulani herdsmen arrested with arms in Ondo

THE local vigilante from the coastal community of Agadagba Obon, in Ese local government area of Ondo state on Thursday, arrested four armed Fulani herdsmen in the area.

The four herdsmen whose identity were unknown as at the time of writing this report were arrested in the town after being found to be in possession of dangerous weapons including guns and handed over to the security operatives in the area for interrogation.

Confirming the development, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, said the men have been handed over to the police, saying the command had begun an investigation into the matter.

He said ” They have been handed over to us on and when we interrogated them, they told us that they were farmers that they wanted to board a boat to Edo State but we have begun an investigation to ascertain their claim.

“However there was no report the suspects had killed anybody with the arms they are carrying about, ”

Joseph said some items recovered from the suspects included guns, cutlasses, daggers and axes.

According to a source within the community,  the development created fear in the area as many people, especially women have reportedly stopped going to farm for fear of being attacked by the herdsmen.

A group within the community under the auspices of Arogbo Ijaw Community Organisation has called on security agencies to prevent the Fulani herdsmen from entering the community.

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In a statement signed by the Chairman of the association, Deacon James Ashidi, appealed to people of the community to be security conscious security and report any suspicious movement of anybody to the security agents.

The statement read in part, ” We must tell the whole world that following the development (arrest of the herdsmen), there is a growing apprehension in Arogbo Ijaw land, particularly among the women folk who are scared of going into the forest for their daily business for fear of being attacked by the herdsmen who are suspected to be spies in the community.

” We have already set the machinery in motion to train our vigilante to work in collaboration with the police to comb every nook and cranny of our forest to fish out these herdsmen to ensure peace and tranquillity. “