Hundreds of housewives including unmarried ladies in Ewu Urhobo community of Ughelli South local government area of Delta State on Wednesday protested alleged continuous rape by suspected Fulani herdsmen, said to have been on rampage in the last few months in the community and environ.
The protesters, according to eyewitness, Abel Oshewigho, barricaded major roads within the community and chanted war songs including the display of placards with inscriptions such as: ”We no gree, Fulani herdsmen must go. We are tied of Fulani herdsmen raping us in our farmlands. They have taken over our farmlands.They have also allegedly raped over fifteen housewives and three to death”.
Leader of the protesting housewives, Mrs Queen Dieseruwe, who spoke to journalists in the community, said; “We are protesting against the Fulani herdsmen who are raping our women in their own farmlands. They block roads to waylay women going to markets and those either going or coming from farm. They sleep with them at gunpoint and any of their victims who tried to resist, these wicked Fulani herdsmen will cut off their necks with matchets. They will go to our farms and uproot our cassava and destroy them. Until they leave our lands, no peace for us,” she lamented.
According to Dieseruwe, one of the women, popularly known as Madam Bread from Edjekota Ogor, allegedly raped by suspected Fulani herdsmen died last Monday after the incident on Sunday evening from trauma.
She added that two others were injured and are being treated at the Central hospital in Ewu Uhrobo Community.
But the state Police Commissioner, Mustafa Muhammad, who spoke to journalists in Asaba on the protest by the housewives, said: “the police have arrested a number of suspects linked as Fulani Herdsmen and investigation is ongoing with a view to arresting the situation. The police will do everything possible to bring to book suspects behind the frequent rape of housewives in the community. The police are not unmindful of the alleged rape of housewives and we will do our best to bring to book those involved in the act”.
While appealing to the protesting housewives to maintain law and order in the community, the police boss disclosed that the police will do everything possible to get rid of the suspects allegedly raping the housewives in Ewu Urhobo community, adding that the police recently constituted Special Squad Unit to curb the menace in the community,
As at the time of this report, the protesting housewives were reported to have blocked major roads where the Fulani herdsmen frequent with their cows, insisting that they (Fulani Herdsmen) must leave their community for peace to reign.
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