Residents of Odamen-Ekperi community in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State have revealed why they decided to raise the alarm over impending herdsmen attack and subsequently fled their homes.
According to them, some farmers in the communities saw some suspected bandits in the forest with guns, threatening to invade Odamen-Ekperi at night.
The people said that there was no actual attack on the community by the suspected herdsmen, but their fear arose from the claims of some Tiv settlers in Odamen-Ekperi’s bush, hence they fled their homes.
It will be recalled that the news of an attack in Odamen-Ekperi and Iyerekhu communities in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State went viral on social media recently, claiming that many people had been killed by suspected herdsmen while many were seen leaving the communities.
A visit to the communities by the Nigerian Tribune on Thursday to assess the situation revealed that normalcy was gradually returning as some residents were seen carrying out their normal activities while the youth were seen being recruited into the vigilante group.
Some residents of Odamen-Ekperi who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune said that upon receiving the information about the attack, the people of the community were promptly evacuated to a neighbouring community for safety.
Men armed with dangerous weapons, suspected to be herdsmen, were approaching the community (Odamen-Ekperi) for destruction, just as they claimed that they will wipe off the community.
“The news was actually brought to us by Tiv settlers in the forest who have an encounter with them (the suspects).
“And that was why we deserted this place. About 95 percent of people in this community were evacuated to the neighbouring community for safety.
“Because the people got the information early enough, they themselves (suspects) withdrew. Our vigilantes went in search of them and they could not find any of them as of that time.
“But we are afraid because we don’t know the manner in which they will come again,” Dr. Buddy Mustapha, a resident of the community said.
Meanwhile, one of the community chiefs, Abubakar Aliu said, “It was just an attack, we discovered that it was the herdsmen, they invaded one of the camps in the bush and made away with some foodstuffs. That was why they were shooting guns sporadically into the air when they got to Tiv camp.
“We tried to trace them but we could not and since we could not find them, we decided to go back to our community and secure it.”
According to Abu Kadiri, some of the people are yet to return to the community over fear of attack.
The state Security Network Corps, led by the Edo North Commander, Aneru Abdullai Abdul, was at the community to ensure the safety of the residents and held a meeting with the people.
As of the time of filing this report, the vigilante members were seen going into the forest to search for the suspected bandits.
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