…We will Fish Out ‘criminal herdsmen’ – Police
The menace of killer herdsmen in the southern part of the country continued Wednesday with the killing of seven persons in some agrarian communities in Ovia Northeast local government area of Edo State. The affected communities included Ugboke, Oshodi, Okokodo, Ariyan and Yoruba camp. The Edo State Police Command which confirmed the dastardly act on Thursday, said the bodies of the unfortunate victims had been evacuated “and moves are on to ensure that place is calm and lives return to normalcy”.
An eyewitness and indigene of the area, Janet Ighodaro, who cheated death during the attack, revealed that “the suspected herdsmen took over the popular Yoruba camp located in Ovia Northeast as a base to launch attack into various communities in our state.”
Ighodaro said she was lucky to escape stray bullets flying in the air as she ran for safety to take refuge with her family in Benin, the state capital. She further explained that the suspected gunmen shot sporadically, killing and leaving seven persons dead. Four of the victims, according to her, were farmers returning from their farms when they were shot at and killed on the spot.
She stated that the unprovoked attack on the camps and communities was reported to the police. She complained that security presence in the locality was zero.
Ighodaro accused the police of visiting some of the affected communities, stating that they only stopped at Okokhua community, and insisted on not going further. According to her, they instead instructed the other affected communities to bring the victims’ dead bodies to them at Okokhuo. She therefore pleaded with the security agents to come to their rescue, as a matter of urgency.
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, Chidi Nwabuzor, superintendent of police, SP said “The State Police Command is aware of the incident that happened within the jurisdiction of Ekhiadolor Divisional Police Command. The DPO and his operatives visited the crime site and evacuated the bodies and moves are on to ensure that place is calm and lives return to normalcy. Also, the Police are carrying out their investigation to effect the arrest of the criminal herdsmen who perpetuated the dastardly acts”. Nwabuzor said “The command is bent on using every legal means to fish out the criminals”.
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