One Killed as Herdsmen Allegedly Attack Kogi Community

Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja
One person has been confirmed dead as herdsmen attack government reservation area bordering Dekina and Omala Local Councils in the Eastern Senatorial district of Kogi State.

 THISDAY gathered that the attack was in retaliation by the Fulani herdsmen following an attack on the Fulani by some of the communities which led to the killing of two Fulanis while 20 cows were also killed about two weeks ago.

It was yesterday gathered that the late Yahaya Amodu, a timber merchant in the company of six others went to the reservation area to fetch timbers that have already been cut down, preparatory to be transported home.

 Luck, however, ran out of them when the herdsmen who were on retaliatory mission meters away to the location opened fire on them and killed one of the Timbermen.
Eyewitness account has it that he was going ahead of others and he was shot while others scampered into the bush for safety.

 The source who narrated the incident to newsmen said that the incident happened last recently saying that fear and tension couldn’t allow the people of the community to look for his corpse until the following day.
It was rumoured among those communities that herdsmen were camping in their numbers in a nearby forest in preparation for a retaliatory attack on those communities which they believed killed two of their people and 20 cows about two weeks ago.

 The victim, late Amodu Yahaya, a resident of Ajejima in Opada/Ofejiji ward, Omala Local government has been buried according to Islamic rites.
Meanwhile, the people of Agabifo, Agbenema and Ajejima have deserted their communities and are currently taking cover at Abejukolo, the headquarters of Omala local government area for fear of the reprisal attacks.

 A local farmer who spoke under condition of anonymity said: “We have all relocated to Abejukolo because we heard that Fulani herdsmen have camped in the timber forest and were planning to attack us”, he said.

 However when THISDAY called on the phone line of the spoke person of the Kogi State Police Command, Mr.  William Ayah to confirm the incident his line was switched off but sources close to the Command confirmed the incident to THISDAY.
The effort to also speak with the administrator of Omala local government council,  Mr. Ibrahim Aboh proved abortive as at the time of this report.