- No fewer than five persons were reportedly killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ogbede-Mgbuji Eha-Amufu Community in Isi-Uzo local government area of Enugu State on Tuesday.
- The invading herdsmen were also said to have destroyed several hundreds of houses and sacked 14 farm settlements inhabited by over 3,000 residents.
- Some community leaders who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, said that members of the community were no longer going to their farms either to cultivate or harvest their crops.
- Addressing journalists on the constant killing of their people by herdsmen at Eha-Amufu town on Wednesday, Chief Jerome Odo, said they are constantly living in fear of attacks as no one knows who will be the next victim.
- He said that their women are being are raped in the farm, citing the alleged raping of a woman by suspected Fulani militias at the troubled community few days ago.
- Odo, who was flanked by some leaders of the community, disclosed that since Monday and Tuesday five of their people had been killed while so many of them are missing.
- He said “five our people were killed – three on Tuesday and two were killed on Monday while many others which I can’t give the figure sustained several bullet injury. So many others are still missing.
- “What is happening in my place is ‘three much’. These people are pure terrorists. Yesterday soldiers and police went to Orie Market and carried corpses of our people they killed.
- “It didn’t take ten minutes after they left that the terrorists started shooting sporadically for several hours coming inside the community before they went. Everybody they saw was shot. Three corpses were found on the road, and we speak, police are going to carry those corpses.”
- On the soldiers that were deployed to the community, he said “soldiers are in the town they are no longer in the settlement and when you call them they will not go. On Monday the invaders attacked and shot security men including soldiers.
- “Unfortunately, the Chairman of the local government – Isi-Uzo LGA, who incidentally is from Eha-Amufu, has not been seen since four months he was elected. When you call him he will say he is doing something. He is from the Mgbuji Community where people are massacred on daily basis,” he lamented.
- On the number of houses burnt Egah said, ” in Akpuff Mgbuji old farm settlements where more than 1000 people were living, all the houses have been completely burnt down. No single soul is living there as we speak. Fulani people have taken over and demolishing the houses. When they burnt house they will demolish and level the place. The same thing in Obodo-Mba, in Ogbete where Orie Market is located they have burnt many houses there. Nobody is living there again even in their farms. More than 14 farm settlements we have in Mgbuji no one person is living there they have taken over.
- “Nobody is doing anything and I think the reason the soldiers are in Eha-Amufu is to protect them. Because they (soldiers and police) don’t come whenever they are attacking our people.”
- When asked what their local vigilante are doing, he said that “our local security are being killed equally. On Monday one of our local security was killed and they took away his gun. Fear don’t allow anybody to go there again. The people who are attacking our people are highly trained. I suspect they were imported.
- “Nobody from Eha-Amufu can go there now. The only thing police DPO is doing is to come and carry corpses after the attack. If you call him during the attack he won’t come. Yesterday and two days ago when theywere killing our people, we called him and he didn’t come.
- “The only thing he did was to come and carry the corpse even when the owner of the corpse told him that they didn’t want to deposit the corpse in the mortuary,and urged the DPO to give him the corpse to bury, but he refused. He carried it to the mortuary. Yesterday when they were shooting we called him and told him that they have killed two people that he should intervene, he told us that he won’t come that he is going to where someone was kidnapped.
- “This morning he is going there to carry the corpses to the mortuary. He always insist that unless the police Commissioner authorise for anyone to buried, he will not release the corpse. You don’t come to save life but when the person die even when the owners of the corpses are begging you to allow them to bury them, you will refuse and carry it go to mortuary.
- “I can tell you categorically that the Fulani militias are operating freely on a daily basis. If they see women they will rape them. Nobody can go to the farm even to harvest cassava. If a woman goes to the farm, they will rape her, and machete her. If is a man they will shoot and machete the person. Neither soldiers nor the police confront them. They have completely taken over this part of the state.”
- Efforts to get the reaction of the Chairman of Isi-Uzo Council Area, Obiora Obeagu, were unsuccesful as he didn’t pick his calls. He also did not respond to an sms sent to his phone.
- Meanwhile, the State Police Command has confirmed the attack.
- The Command’s spokesman Daniel Ndukwe, who confirmed the incident in a text message, said that a manhunt had been launched against the assailants whom he said were yet to be identified.
- Ndukwe said, “Police Operatives responded to a distress call, alleging the murder of two (2) male victims by yet-to-be identified gunmen and some others said to be missing, at Ogbede-Mgbuji, Eha-Amufu, on 13/06/2022 at about 11.45pm.
- “The Operatives took the two (2) lifeless bodies to the hospital, where they were confirmed dead by doctors and deposited in the mortuary for autopsy.
- “Meanwhile, the manhunt of the assailants has commenced, while there is no report of any burnt house(s). Further development will be communicated, please,” he concluded.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen kill 5, burn several houses in Enugu community
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