Armed Herders Terrorise Bayelsa, Delta Farmers, Fishermen

FARMERS  and fishermen at Okordia, Zarama clans in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, and Beneku Community, in Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Delta State, have raised the alarm that Fulani herders have continued to make their flesh crawl, as they destroy their plants and farmlands with reckless abandon.

Last year, the marauding herders shot dead two prominent indigenes, Alexander Diri and Bob Wilson, for having the boldness to tell them to move their cows away from their farmlands. The Bayelsa State Government intervened and expelled the errant herders, but the recalcitrant herders returned and perpetrated even greater havoc.

Peeved, women under the auspices of Okordia-Zarama Female Traditional Rulers Forum, last week, laid siege to the East-West Road, encumbering movement on the federal highway, to draw the attention of the Federal and Bayelsa State Governments to their dilemma.

On their part, indigenes of Beneku in Delta State, have lamented their nightmare in the hands of Fulani herdsmen, who invaded and destroyed over 100 farmlands in the flood-prone agrarian community. They kill our people; destroy our crops—Okah, ruler A paramount ruler in the area, Chief Gospel Okah, told NDV: “We have a short planting season here and the herdsmen are destroying the crops planted by our women. There is little or nothing we can do because we cannot go to the forest and ask them to leave. Some of them are very violent.“That is what our women are suffering hence that fateful Wednesday, they decided to stage a peaceful protest on the East-West Road, and some were even injured when security forces used teargas and sticks to disperse them. “It is only God that can solve the problem. We have on several occasions written to the government. Last year, when they shot and killed some of our people, we went to the state government, and they promised they were going to ask them to leave the forest. The government sent away the errant herders. After a while, we saw another set going in again. “The professional hunters too tried in their way to stop the herders, but since the government never continued with their services, they left the area and the worst thing has happened again this year. Therefore, it is the government that can eject them since they are armed.” 

How I escaped death —Odoyibo, resident A resident, Washington Odoyibo, who escaped death by the whiskers, last year, when armed herdsmen attacked  villagers on their way to fish at a lake in the area, said: “I was lucky to have used my vast knowledge of the forest to escape back to town and raised the alarm.“But two persons, including a chief, were not that lucky as gun-wielding herdsmen brutally murdered them. “As we speak, they have again infiltrated and occupied our forest. We are fishermen and farmers, and we do not have another job. I am a family man with children. Farming and fishing are what we depend on for our sustenance. “We are hoping that at the end of the day, after harvest we should be able to get something for our family, for the children and their education. But look at what is happening to us. “We are in the lurch; we do not have the kind of weapons they carry about with them. All we want is peace; we cannot stay away from our forest and stay in hunger. This is why I am calling on the government to please assist us.

Call these herdsmen to order. There are a few high grounds in Bayelsa, which are majorly waterlogged and swampy. When the little land for farming is denied us, it is very worrisome.”

We are trapped—Mrs. Warder, clan chief

A clan chief, Mrs. Ayibakuro Warder, who spoke to NDV, also said: “We are helpless. We are going through a serious problem. They are disturbing and killing our youths. Every year, they are terrorizing our area as if it is their bedroom. “As farmers, we till and cultivate the soil to feed our family, and as a mother and grandmother in the Niger-Delta, you can understand the trauma we are going through. How do we live without our forest? “We have written a series of letters to the government on the atrocities being perpetrated by the herdsmen without any solution. We have no power to fight them, which is why we are crying out to the world,” the women coordinator added.

Another indigene, Mummy Roland, said: “Our people are predominantly fishing and farming folks, hence the totality of our existence revolves around our environment. Therefore, having these herdsmen trampling on our farmlands and denying us the rights to our ancestral land is disturbing. “Just as the oil companies terrorize us through oil spills, armed herdsmen and their cows terrorize and harass us; destroy our farmlands, and prevent us access to our lakes in the forest. “We are a peace-loving people and will not want to take the laws into our hands even though we know there is an existing law prohibiting open grazing in the state. The herders should restrict their activities to the area  the government provided them to avoid negative occurrences.”

Our most horrifying problem is herders—Onwuma, chair

In Delta State, the Chairman of the Beneku Community Development Committee, CDC,  Mr. Uche Onwuma, said: “Our occupation from origin is farming, but in our terrain, we are facing two problems. We face the problem of perennial flooding which is natural, but the worst is that of herdsmen. As we speak, they have destroyed our farmlands. “There have been reports of the herdsmen trying to attack women and other people that are working in the farms. They have threatened that if we disturb them, they are ready to fight. “Most of our farmers are now scared of going to their farms, but if we don’t go, there will be hunger; so those that still go to farms go in clusters with fear. Our economy is in danger because farming is our main occupation. “We have taken the matter to the police station in Ashaka because such matters are not what the community can handle alone without involving the government to avoid problems.’

Villagers can’t go to farms anymore —Amukali

A member of the vigilante, and son of the Okpala-Uku of the community, Ikechukwu Amukali, grumbled: “The problem here is that herdsmen have invaded our community, and many women and men do come to my father’s compound to complain about what they have been going through in the hands of the herdsmen. “They have destroyed all our farms, and now our people cannot go into the bush to fetch firewood and work on their farms because cows are everywhere, and we are saying that we cannot let cows stay in our community. We have taken the matter to the Police and Delta State Livestock Management Committee. They have come to our community several times and have come to the bush with the leaders of the herdsmen, but the herdsmen are not cooperating with the government and community to date. “They attacked our people and boasted that they would chase them from the farms. Some carry cutlasses and their sticks to pursue our people, and now the people are afraid of going to the farms.”

Herders ignore dialogue—Ujene, Delta Livestock Mgt. Committee

Coordinator of Delta State Livestock Management Committee in the Delta North Senatorial District, Mr. Matthew Ujene, said: “We have stepped in to intervene so that the community people will not take laws into their hands. “We took the leadership of the herdsmen to the Ashaka Police Station along with four others. The DPO appealed to me to mediate, but after they left, they refused to come back for dialogue. “Since  then, the herders have continued to destroy the crops, and over 100 farms that we inspected have been destroyed.

Issue resolved  —PPRO

Contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Delta State Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, said the issue had been tackled, adding, “The disagreement has been sorted out.”

Source: Vanguard