Shock as Fulani Herdsmen Invade Enugu Community

 

Suspected Fulani herdsmen unleashed mayhem in Ajona-Ogbo town in Abbi community, Uzo-Uwani LGA, Enugu State, when they launched a midnight attack on the people of the community, killing two persons of the same parents, according to the Daily Sun.

 

They went on the rampage, destroyed valuable property and set several houses ablaze. The assailants slaughtered Mr Fidelis Okeja and his sister, Mercy Oriefi Okeja, with machetes and left several others wounded. Their bodies, lacerated with machete wounds were recovered at the scene by the police and deposited at the Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka.

Investigations revealed that the herdsmen infiltrated the village through the Kogi axis, wielding dangerous weapons like guns, daggers and charms. They confronted the unarmed villagers and went on a killing spree, cutting down the elderly and the children with their cutlasses.

 

The late Fidelis, who was a teacher in Nsukka town, had gone to his rural home for a family meeting when he ran into the killing squad. Mercy, who was with him during the attack, also lost her life. Findings revealed that the late Fidelis had three wives and he was the breadwinner of his large family before the tragic incident.

Sunday Sun gathered that houses belonging to one of the villagers identified as Remigius, popularly known as Ichie Million and that of the People's Democratic Party chairman of Uzo-Uwani LGA, Chief Albert Eze, were among those razed during the attack.

Further inquires revealed that the villagers, mostly old men, women and children, ran away from the troubled area to Abbi and Ugbene neighbouring villages for fear of renewed attack.

One of the survivors, who gave his name as Onyoma Ezugwu, said the villagers, had been having a running battle with the herdsmen over the continued destruction of their farmlands. According to him, farmlands were regularly trampled on by cattle belonging to the Fulani herdsmen, despite series of protests by the local farmers.