Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State
The people of Avwon, Agadama, Ohoror and other communities of Uwheru Kingdom, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State have said that the persons who attacked their communities and killed no fewer than 8 persons were Fulani herdsmen.
According to some members of the communities who spoke to Political Economist, herdsmen accompanied by unidentified army personnel stormed the communities and killed 8 persons. Some other persons were injured in what they called ‘unprovoked attack’.
The attack started on Thursday and by Saturday, lives and property, including farms, had been lost to the herdsmen. They claimed that in recent years, the attack had become a yearly routine.
“They take over our farms with their cattle. They eat our food and our people are afraid to go to farm because the Fulani men are fully armed.
Delta is not in the north but we are suffering more than some northern communities. How did they get here in the first place? We are tired. We need protection,” Jude Markson, a resident of Ohoror told our reporter.
Meantime, Delta governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has decried renewed attacks by suspected herdsmen on communities of Uwheru Kingdom, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, the governor flayed the crisis which had resulted in unwarranted killings of innocent locals.
He called for restraint from the warring parties, saying that he had directed the Commissioner of Police and the Brigade Commander, 63 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Asaba, to as a matter of urgency ensure that peace was restored to the communities.
Okowa also charged authorities of the Nigerian Army to investigate the alleged involvement of its personnel in the crisis and fish them out.
On Sunday after normalcy was restored, Governor Okowa commended the Nigerian Army and the Police for their prompt intervention. The governor expressed gratitude for the peace that had been restored to the communities through the instrumentality of the security agencies.
He, however, said that he was saddened by reports of persons, including security agents, feared to have lost their lives.
Okowa restated the confidence of the state government in the security agencies to rise to security challenges in the state.
He thanked the army authorities for the sustained support to the state in providing security and protecting public facilities across the state.
The governor called on the communities affected in the crisis to maintain the peace that had been restored, assuring that the security agents would investigate the cause of the clash and bring the perpetrators to justice.
