Tension is high in Egede community, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, following the alleged killing of a 42-year-old man by Fulani herdsmen.
DAILY POST learnt that the victim, Chinwuba Ekwueme, father of three and a member of the Egede neighbourhood watch was murdered by AK-47 wielding Fulani herdsmen.
The herdsmen were reportedly grazing their cattle in the community when the incident happened.
The situation has heightened tension in the area as community leaders make efforts to forestall reprisal attacks.
Chairman of the Egede neighbourhood watch, Mr. Donatus Otie, who confirmed the killing, said the deceased was murdered by the herdsmen after other vigilante members took to their heels.
According to him, the herdsmen came shooting, scaring away members of the vigilante most of whom took to their heels.
The deceased was not, however, lucky as he was surrounded by the cattle men that eventually gave him severe machete cuts that led to his death.
Reacting, the traditional ruler of Egede, Igwe Polycarp Oyigbo lamented the reoccurrence of the nomads` attack on his subjects and wondered why government had not been able to offer measures towards saving them from the strangers` brutality.
Igwe Oyigbo noted that the community leadership had been prevailing on the youths to avoid reprisal attack, and expressed hope that the police would keep to their promise of bringing the culprits to book.
He said, “I do not know whether it would have been better to allow them to take laws into their hands; so, government should take appropriate actions to end the menace”, he said.
President General of the Egede Town Union, Ichie Clement Amuji lamented the pain and sorrow the herdsmen had inflicted on his people.
“The attack by these herdesmen has become a menace to our people. We have been complaining to the government; we have written several letters to Udi LGA, and the DPO 9th-Mile.
“This has been happening; they have been destroying our crops, raping our women. They killed a young man from Umuanum about three years ago. It is very sad because it has repeated itself,” he lamented.
He urged the government to come to the aide of the community and to provide arms with which the vigilante members could contain the herdsmen.
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