Tension As Herdsmen Occupy Farmlands In Imo Community, Refuse To Leave

There’s reportedly tension in Obokofia, a community in Ohaji/Egbema local council of Imo state, following the insistence by herdsmen on remaining in the community’s land even after a deadline was given for them to vacate.

Newsflash247 reports some herders shot sporadically into the air on Wednesday, July 3 in a bid to scare members of the community and resist the ultimatum.

Newsflash247 gathered that the herders have stayed put in the community, despite the intervention of the Ohaji/Egbema Transition Committee chairman, Damian Ezeru, which calmed down the situation.

The situation became even more tense following the failure of a meeting security meeting to hold, as Ezeru was reportedly attending an official meeting with Governor Emeka Ihedioha, alongside his colleagues.

The meeting will now take place on Friday, July 5.

A source reportedly stated: “The herdsmen are still in the community. They have not left. They are prepared for us but we don’t want to fight them.

We want peace in our land. “I want to ask, how can somebody come to your land and you tell him to leave and that person starts threatening to kill you? What sort of intimidation is this?

“We want them to move out of our farmlands. This is very bad. Do they want us to suffer as a result of lack of food to eat? This is too much. We want them to stop. We can’t continue like this.”

When contacted, the special adviser to the state governor on media, Steve Osuji, reportedly appealed for peace.

He said: “On the herders and farmers crisis, we just appeal to people to respect each others’ rights. Don’t invade people’s farms and destroy them.

“We will continue to engage the leadership of Hausa community in the state to advise their people to live peacefully with their host communities.”

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