The residents of the Agbede community in Edo State’s Etsako West local government area have reported that the community’s kidnappings and murders have not stopped and that suspected herdsmen have taken over the village and surrounding forests.
They claim that these herdsmen have raped women, killed and maimed those who were unable to pay a ransom, and forced farmers off their farms.
They claim that Agbede and the villages nearby, such as Odighie, Egono, and Awain, have been under siege for the past two months and that attempts to enlist the aid of local police have failed because they are accusing the police of complicity, claiming that a senior police officer from the country’s north is allegedly hiding the criminals.
“Farm destruction, killings, rapes, and kidnappings for ransom have become disturbingly common and the police, instead of protecting the communities, they seem to be aiding and abetting the Fulani herders against the aborigines.”
“The DPO at the Agbede Police Station, the Police Area Command in Auchi, and the Zone Five Office in Benin are not helping matters as we are suspecting them to be backing the herders with lining orders which is now creating fear amongst the people over their genuine protection and safety.”
To shed further information, a community member who wished to remain anonymous claimed that the police were intimidating vigilantes and hunters who dared to oppose the Fulani invaders by utilizing extortion, intimidation, and detention.
The individual claimed that persons detained in relation to these atrocities are freed a few hours after being apprehended and that they are compelled to sign pledges promising not to confront the herders.
“Mamudu Momoh was attacked on his farm after he met some herdsmen taking over the farms, uprooting his cassava to feed their cows and in the process, he was attacked and injured. He went to the Agbede Police Division to report the case. The case was later turned against him, he was arrested and taken to Zone 5, where he was detained, and the community spent a lot of money to secure his release.”
“There is another farmer in the community, Idris, who has been kidnapped by the herdsmen for over a month now and ransom has been paid, the man is yet to be released up till today.”
“We are asking the inspector general of police to withdraw the DPO of the Agbede Police division who is a Northerner without which the Agbede community will never know peace in the hands of the herdsmen who are everywhere in our bush claiming to be hunters.”
When reached, CSP Moses Yamu, the Edo State Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, refuted the claims, stating that the Agbede Police Division’s officers and men have been working nonstop to address the herdsmen crisis in the region.
According to him, more than ten suspected kidnappers in that axis have been taken into custody by Agbede police, who are presently conducting an investigation with assistance from Auchi Area Command.
According to CSP Yamu, the Agbede community behaved unfairly toward the police during their protest, particularly toward the Zone 5 Command. The AIG of the zone has only been on duty for less than two weeks, so it is unjust for the community to accuse the police of helping herdsmen in their areas.
The Edo State Police Command will keep working to combat the threat of kidnapping and other criminal activity in the state, according to the PPRO.
