Schools, Hospitals Shut As Suspected Herdsmen Attack Ogun Communities, Kill Two

Suspected Fulani herdsmen, on Thursday, attacked Owode-Ketu and Ijoun villages in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of Ogun State and reportedly killed two persons.

Reporters At Large gathered that the victims, Isiaka Apesin and Oguntosin Adebayo, were killed on their way to their farms by the herdsmen, who laid an ambush for them.

Eyewitnesses said after killing the farmers, the herdsmen went into the two villages and started shooting indiscriminately and scaring away residents.

According to the source, the killer herdsmen ran into the bush after perpetrating the act.

It was gathered that when the day broke, there was tension in the affected villages, a development that made schools and hospitals in the villages to shut down abruptly.

It was gathered that the incident prompted the closure of schools, hospitals and other businesses as villagers scampered for safety after the killings and the indiscriminate shooting by the assailants.

The Baale of Owode-Ketu, Rev. Sanya Fabuyi, who confirmed the incident, stated that the herdsmen came with sophisticated weapons.

Fabuyi said the villagers were helpless as the herdsmen shot indiscriminately and caused panic in the area.

The youth leader of the community, Mr Sina Olaleye, said the herdsmen, who put on bulletproof vests, immediately fled into the forest after the attack.

He said, “The herdsmen were more than 100 and some of them were putting on bulletproof vests. They are still in the forest now and the police are combing the forest.

“All schools and businesses have been shut down and our people are indoors for fear of being attacked.”

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident.

Meanwhile, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, on Thursday, warned those he called “criminal herdsmen” in the South West to leave the region with immediate effect.

He said the herders would be tackled by men of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) if they failed to leave.

This is just as Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, advised the federal government to ban foreign herders from coming to Nigeria to tame rising insecurity.

Governor Ganduje, who also said it was wrong to tag all herders as criminals, added that many Fulani is doing legitimate business of rearing animals and needed the support of various stakeholders to do it better.