Men of the Ondo State Security Network, Amotekun, on Tuesday, arrested two Fulani herdsmen and their cows along the Ijare/Irese road in Ifedore Local Government Area of the state for destroying farmlands.
The Commander of the Amotekun Corps in the state, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed this to journalists in Akure said men of the security outfit arrested the armed Fulani herdsmen after receiving a distress call from some farmers.
Adeleye who said the two herdsmen tried to evade arrest, shot at the men of the Amotekun but said “many thanks to the bulletproof they would have killed our men.”
He said the farmers in the settlement invited the corps over the destruction of their farms by the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle after meeting the cows and the herders on the farm in the early hours of Tuesday.
He explained that the farmers resolved to call the Amotekun after the Fulani herdsmen refused to drive away their cows from the farms and threatened to kill them.
He said all the crops on the farms were eaten up by the cows and they had to report the incident at the office of Ondo Security Network, known as Amotekun.
He said “some farmers at the farm settlement invited us to the farm where we met the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle. They have destroyed the farms and in an attempt to dialogue with them, they shot at us.
” We arrested them with about 200 cows. It was the villagers that invited us when the cows had destroyed their crops on their farms.
” When we arrived we wanted to resolve the matter, the next is that the herders just opened fire on us.
“Thank God for the bullet-proof vest we put on they would have killed our men today. None of our men was injured in the attack.”
He, however, said the two Fulani herdsmen will be handed over to the security agents after investigation.
Meanwhile, the Commandant of the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), Col. Olayinka Olayanju (rtd) has declared that Ibarapaland is safe and free of killer herdsmen and kidnappers.
The Commandant, who stated this in a statement made available to Reporters At Large in Ibadan, said that he will volunteer to lead anyone who is interested in taking a tour of parts of Ibarapaland earlier hit by herders/farmers crisis.
