Residents of Ijagba, Imoru and Arimogija in the Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State have sounded the alarm over incessant attacks on communities by suspected herdsmen-killers.
In a ‘Save our souls’ message to the state government, the residents, who are mostly farmers, claimed that the herdsman-killers had been terrorizing communities for more than two weeks, killing and destroying property worth millions of Naira. .
It was deduced that the herders had allegedly been destroying farmland and crops including yams, maize and cassava in the affected communities and if the farmers resisted they would attack them.
A source in one of the communities said on Wednesday that the herders who always kidnap community residents for ransom had warned them not to go near their local farms and plantations.
Consequently, according to the source, many residents left their homes and moved from the affected communities to neighboring cities and towns for fear of further attacks.
The source said: “They recently broke into a house and kidnapped a girl just hours after they freed a man from his captive after collecting a ransom that was negotiated from N10 million to N1 million.
“For fear of attacks, some of the residents of the communities have left the area. We want the government and the police to save us in this area.”
When contacted, the police spokesman in the state, Funmilayo Odunlami, said that the command had not been informed about the incident, but that the men of the force would be mobilized to the communities to determine the true nature of the events.
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