Residents of Ozalla communities in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State on Monday blocked the ever busy Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway.
DAILY POST reports that hundreds of road users were left stranded for several hours.
They carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “Fulani herdsmen leave us alone; free our Chief Security Officer now; Enugu State Governor come and rescue us; Fulani stop destroying our crops; Fulani stop raping our women and killing our people; we are not refugee in our own land”
It took the intervention of the Chairman of the Enugu State Committee on Security and Peace, General Fred Eze (Rtd.) accompanied by the Sarkin Hausa in Enugu State, His Royal Highness, Sarki Abubakar Yusuf and the Enugu State Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, before the angry residents cleared the road for traffic.
Our correspondent, who visited the area Monday morning, saw women and children at the Ozalla Police Station where they took refuge all through Sunday night.
The Communities most affected are Umuanee Ozalla and Obeagwu Ozalla, both in Nkanu West Council Area.
A source hinted that trouble started when Fulani herdsmen recovered the remains of one of them, who they alleged was murdered by the residents.
A source gave the name of the herdsmen allegedly murdered as Ibrahim Bassa Toby, son of one of the prominent herdsmen in the State.
It was gathered that the Chief Security Officer Ozalla, Mr. Nwoye Bonaventure is currently being detained by the police in connection with the alleged killing.
However, the residents, who denied involving in any killing, further alleged that the herdsmen stormed the area threatening to wipe them out.
They demanded immediate released of their kinsman as well as an end to the invasion of their communities by the herdsmen.
Speaking on behalf of the affected communities, the traditional ruler of Umuanee community, Igwe Chriscent Okafor described the development as worrisome and devastating.
Okafor, who spoke alongside one of the President-Generals in the area, Chief Okwy Aneke, recalled that trouble started last year when the herdsmen invaded the community and set a camp without obtaining permission from anybody.
“We were surprised over the discovery of that camp right in the community so I invited their leader to my palace.
“When he came, he told me that they were chased away from the place they were staying before and that they needed a new place. I asked him whether anyone could do such in his place without recourse to the community leader, he answered in the negative.
“He later requested to bring along his senior brother. Eventually his senior brother came, who happens to be one of their leaders. After our discussion, they asked us to give them three days to vacate the community. We obliged them and on the agreed day, they left”, the monarch stated.
He added that “we never heard anything from them again until few days ago when they stormed our community with a coffin, claiming that one of them was killed by our people.
“What I heard now is that they picked our security officer who they claimed carried out the killing. My question is- how was the person killed when they left here last since last year? How come they never reported such incident to me as the traditional rulers?
“They said they have a corpse but nobody in Ozalla saw the corpse, all we saw was a coffin; our people were not allowed to come close.
“I heard that as they moved around with the coffin, they threatened to deal with our people; that’s what has resulted to this tension. People started running and as you can see, most of them slept here in the police station.
“The entire area has now been totally deserted; nobody wants to go back there because there is fear that they may return at any time to carry out the said threat.”
Meanwhile, reacting to the development, on behalf of the herdsmen, His Royal Highness, Sarki Abubakar Yusuf, Sarkin Hausa community, denied any planned attack on the community.
While insisting that one of them was murdered and that his corpse was recovered right inside the community, Abubakar, however, re-assured the community that there was no cause for alarm.
According to him, “The DPO called me yesterday at about 10 p.m, that the women are in his police station in fear of reprisal attack. I said from where- that the government of Enugu State has set-up a monitoring committee that will be monitoring the relationship of herdsmen and farmers.
“I assured him that nothing as such is true, that based on the alleged killing there is tendency of fear of reprisal attack. I assured him that no such thing will happen. This morning I called him and asked about the situation between yesterday night and now, he said everything was under control.
“Myself and the Chairman of the Peace and Security committee, Gen. Fred Eze (Rtd.) are working round the clock to ensure harmonious relationship between farmers and herdsmen in Enugu State.
“That rumour should be disregarded; there is no truth in it.”
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