Thompson Anyadike
9 November 2009
Owerri — PEOPLE of Umunwanlo village Irete in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State have lauded the intervention of the state government following last week's clash between the people and the Fulani cattle rearers who took their feeding flock into the people's farm lands and destroyed crops worth over N1.5 million.
Speaking to the Daily Champion shortly after a security meeting convened by the special adviser to Gov. Ikedi Ohakim on security matters Chief George Egu, chairman of the Irete Community Development Union (ICDU), Mr. C.N. Metu, said his people would abide by government's decisions and would not take the laws into their own hands.
According to him, government reminded the cattle rearers and owners that their areas of operation werethe Somachi Egbu road, Obinze and Okigwe, adding that the animals should be confined, and any violation of the order or any cattle found roaming inside the towns, villages would be seized and the reares or owners brought to the government house.
The lawyer maintained that his people would not take vengeance as government has genuinely intervened but regretted that similar situations have occurred severally in the past and on each occasion authorities shied away as complaints fall on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, normalcy has returned to the area but due to the damaged cassava, yam, vegetable, melon, garden eggs farms, prices of food stuffs have risen in the area as the indigenes and tenants are predominantly farmers. Also speaking, a community leader in the area Hon Chinedu Akowuba urged Imo government to find a lasting solution to the perpetually recurring problems created by the Fulani herdsmen lamenting that his people over the years have suffered terribly and have always recorded painful losses.
He regretted that most women of the area who were raped by the cattle rearers in the past died due to one disease or the other, adding that his people are not afraid of the vandals but for the respect for the law.
Daily champion also gathered that women of the area who went to farm to discovered the herdsmen with over 200 cows inside their farm land, they ran back to inform the men and they were chased away.
Incidentally according to my source the vandals barely after 24 hours besieged the area again with over 500 cows and brandishing guns, arrows, knives and other dangerous objects and incidentally one Emmanuel was killed, Onyebuchi was badly injurred while many others were wounded during the encounter.
On whether the community seized any cow, my source said no, adding that the herdsmen flee after causing the problem.
Meanwhile, government has mandated the Seriki Hausa who owns the cattle to produce the herdsmen within four days or be held responsible.
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