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Fulani herdsmen kill 30, rape 2 to death in Ogun

Abdul Musediq and Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta
Monday, January 29, 2007
NO fewer than 30 people were feared killed by Fulani herdsmen from Niger Republic while a 20-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl were reportedly raped to death in Iselu area of Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.


The attack of the herdsmen has forced many people in the area to abandon their villages as some villages were reportedly set ablaze by the herdsmen.

A victim, Funke Olude, 20, daughter of a farmer, Sikiru Olude, was raped to death by the herdsmen who attacked the villagers who were working on a farm.

Confirming the incident, the Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olufemi Awoyale, said the situation was under control. According to him, the command had despatched a team of policemen to the affected area.

“There is no cause for alarm. We are on top of the situation. Our men and other security agents are there to maintain surveillance.”

When journalists visited the place, about 10 villages had been sacked while only a few people were seen in the area.

Mr. Olude whose daughter was raped to death and who narrated how his daughter was killed, said the girl, along with others, were working on the family land when the herdsmen attacked.

According to him, “I am still in shock. I find it difficult to believe that I would lose my daughter just like that. If she has died through a natural death, I would probably have accepted, but this is not so.

“ It is man made. It happened during last Christmas. It was a shock to us here. We never expected the onslaught. From the way things are going, it appears the police are colluding with the Nigeriens to unleash terror on us”.

According to him, “we have just finished a bowl of pounded yam when suddenly the Fulani herdsmen from Niger descended on us. They molested us, raped my daughter and even set our villages on fire.”

He said the villagers now lived in fear, adding that the attack had led to many of them fleeing their father’s land.

“Both federal and state governments should come to our aid. We are tired of these constant attacks. We have been sent out of our land by a group of aliens who are being aided by the police.

Something must be done before we take the law into our own hands.”

Also speaking on the incident, the traditional ruler of Iseluland, Oba Ebenezer Akinyemi, described it as “an insult to our land, “urging both the state government and security agencies to wade into the situation.

“They came to invade my territory. It is high time government checked the excesses of these foreigners before my people are forced to take the law into their own hands. As a traditional ruler, I find it difficult that a foreigner would chase away the bonafide owners of the land.”

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