Kogi Monarch, nine others killed in suspected herdsmen attack

In what appears a renewed attack on areas of Kogi East by suspected herdsmen, nine people including a traditional were on Monday killed in separate attacks on Agbenema, Ajichekpa, Opada and Iyade villages, in Omala Local Government Area.

Several houses were also razed in the attacks which reportedly into the following day.

The Onu of Agbenema, Musa Edibo along with his wife, were burnt in his palace, while the residence if the former vice chairman of Onslaught LG, Adofu Stephen was completely razed.

Confirming the development, a former Majority Leader,  Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Azania Mohammed said that the natives were unsure as to whether or not to approach or call on the security operatives for help.

The armed attackers were said to have hidden in bushes around the villages from where they launched attacks on their targets.

According to sources, the herdsmen mode of operation is to set houses ablaze and open fire on fleeing inhabitants, slit their throats and dealing victims machete cuts.

A source who did not want his name in print stated that the Administrator of Omala LGA, Ibrahim Aboh escaped the attackers’ guns by the whiskers.

Residents said that the soldiers drafted to curtail the herdsmen killings allegedly refused to assist the locals to repel the Fulani herdsmen.

“We were surprised when we approached the soldiers who were stationed at the Guest House at Abejukolo, for assistance. They refused to act professionally as they used their vehicle to block us from advancing to the troubled spot to help our people.

“It is clear that the aim of the Fulani herdsmen is to kill us and take over our ancestral homes. They have razed down Ojuwo, Ajomayeigbi, Iyade, Agbenema and Opada villages so that they could use our land for their cattle colonies.

“We want the world to come to our assistance before these Fulanis exterminate and inherit our land. We have lost confidence in the security agencies posted to us. We believe they have been instructed to adopt ‘siddon look’, while we are being massacred.

“Right now, coordinated war is raging simultaneously in most villages in Omala, Dekina and Bassa LGAs. Our people are being killed and houses burnt even as our women are being raped while many children who ran from the theatre of war are still missing”, said a resident of Abejukolo, headquarters of Onslaught LGA.

Governor Yahaya Bello on Saturday visited Oganenigu where scores were killed and houses burnt by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

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