Gunmen strangulate widow at farm in Kwara, cart away bags of rice

SUSPECTED gunmen on Thursday evening strangulated a mother of four, Florence Ede, to death at her farm in Chikanda, a border community in the Baruten local government area of Kwara State.

Ede, popularly known as “Mama Do Good” was said to be in the farm, where she engaged labourers to harvest her rice plants.

Speaking with journalists, an official of Igbo community in the community, Mr Mayor Akonobi, said that the suspected assailants traced the woman to the farm having known that she was carrying a huge amount of money with her.

Akonobi explained that the Enugu-born woman was dispossessed of the money she wanted to use to pay the labourers.

He, however, said that the labourers were not in the farm when the incident happened, except her guard, who ran away when the bandits emerged.

According to him, the bandits also carted away 12 bags from the harvested rice in addition to the money.

He said the deceased was a food seller when she came to the community in 1985 before she later turned to a commercial farmer after the death of her husband.

Akonobi said that 12 arrests had been made including her guard.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the Kwara Police Command, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, who confirmed the incidence, said that investigation was ongoing as the guard and the hired labourers had been arrested to assist police in its investigation.