Life hasn’t been the same for residents, farmers and persons hired to do unskilled manual jobs in some suburbs in Edo State as a result of the continuous attacks by gunmen purportedly operating under the guise of watching over cattle.
In recent times, many inhabitants of the affected communities had come out to protest, send distress calls to the state, federal government, and even the security agencies to find a silver bullet to the intractable problem taking toll on their livelihoods.
The continuous incidents of alleged herdsmen attacks in Edo, particularly in Ovia North-East Local Government Area, have further impoverished inhabitants, deprived many of the right to the means of sustenance of life, destabilised communities, affected food sufficiency efforts and induced dependency on imported foods, thereby leading to high cost of food items.
Ovia North-East is one of the 18 LGAs that make up Edo State. It has many villages, and it is a host to Igbinedion University, Okada, among others. The residents are predominantly into agricultural business and mainly eke out a living through farming oil palm, cassava, plantain, maize and banana.
These are upsetting times for the dwellers, whose major source of income is agriculture, as they will be apprehensive and deterred from going to their farms, a situation that may lead to poor harvest if adequate measures are not put in place to nip the rising criminal activities in the bud.
The unending attacks by suspected herdsmen in the state were once again brought to the fore on April 7, when Jeremiah Izete, a 57-year-old farmer, was shot at Odiguetue community in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, one of the localities that has been bedeviled by the activities of herders.
Izete, a Delta State-born father of six, is currently battling for his life at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) as he is not able to sleep well, talk or eat except through the nose with the aid of a pipe because his jawbone was damaged following gunshot on his mouth by suspected herdsmen who invaded his home.
The victim, who is the breadwinner of the family, spoke through his daughter, Grace Jeremiah that he needs about N2million to pay for a jawbone, accumulated hospital bills, medications and many others so he can be able to regain his speech function and eat properly.
The teary-eyed 18-year-old Grace told BusinessDay Sunday that life has been difficult for them because their father, who is apparently the provider for their home, is yet to bounce back from the hospital bed to go to the farm.
Recounting, she said: “My father is a farmer and we cultivate cassava, yam and pepper. After my father returned home from the farm, he sat down outside with his neighbour to take fresh air. After some time, some group of Fulani herdsmen invaded our house, shot at my father and his neighbour.
“We immediately rushed my father to the hospital while the other man died before he could reach the hospital. Since it happened, it has been hard for us to survive. Even to feed is now a problem, my younger ones are yet to pay their school fees, and we cannot afford the hospital bills. My dad is the one taking care of us, but that is no longer possible as he is being hospitalised.
“It has been very hard for my mum, who has been doing the running around for the family. We are appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to come to our rescue so that my father can continue taking care of us. We need about N2 million for operation, hospital bills, medications, among others.”
“The doctors said they need a plate for the jawbone, which is about N500,000. He has stayed here for almost two months now, and we need money for hospital bills. The nurses also said he needs high protein foods, but we can’t get it because nobody has been able to go to the farm as everyone is here to take care of him,” she added.
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Aggrieved by the incessant attacks by herdsmen, some representatives of the affected communities, including aged women and civil society organisations, in April, took to the street to draw the attention of the public and called on government at all levels to address the ugly situation.
Some of the worst hit domains, according to the protesters, include Odighi, Uhiere, Ofintebe, Odiguetue, Okokhuo, Abumwenre I and II, Igolo, and Obarenren, among others.
They opined that the issue is degenerating in a way that people are being sacked from their homes, and that if decisive action is not taken in the not too distant future, what had been happening in Benue and Plateau States may come to the shore of Edo State where armed herdsmen purportedly displaced inhabitants from their communities, changed the names of the communities, and started to occupy their houses.
“About 15 communities have been under siege for some years now. Farmers have been prevented from going to their farms, and we have not seen a serious effort to address this issue.
“People are being confronted in their farms. They are going from village to village, taking whatever property suits them. Some communities have been deserted; many of the inhabitants are now squatting with their relations in the city without livelihoods,” one of the protesters said.
Osagie Obayuwana, national president, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and member of the organising committee for the protest held in April, said after the demonstration and rally to call the attention of the government and security agencies, there are signs that the relevant authorities are committed to proffering solutions to the scourge.
Obayuwana, a former Edo State attorney general and commissioner for justice, said more organisations, including Edo persons in Diaspora, are now interested in the issue, adding that they have formalised the creation of a partnership between several civil society organisations to coordinate the agitations for securing the communities such that normalcy can be restored and farmers can return to their trade.
“Since the protest, we have met with Abutu Yaro, Edo State commissioner of police, where we could discern a commitment on his path to addressing the issue at the root level. We also wrote to the governor because we know he is the chief security officer of the state who has the constitutional mandate to protect the welfare of Edo people.
“About a week ago, we were referred by the governor to meet with the chief security officer of the government house, and we had the opportunity of having the victims, who are representatives of many communities, narrate first-hand experiences and ongoing challenges.
“We made specific requests from the governor. One of which is that the victim, Jeremiah Izete, who was shot in the mouth and in urgent need of surgery, be taken care of by the state government. We are glad to report that the state government has made a donation towards the cost of the operation that he needs.
“We also requested that the anti-open grazing bill be signed into law, and were assured that work was in progress. More fundamentally, the issue of taking over the forest reserves by the armed herders must be addressed at the root level. We were also given assurances that work is in progress.
“Some of the inhabitants are still displaced; there are those whose farms and houses were set ablaze and would need to have their lives restored,” Obayuwana said.
It is worthy to note that the Obaseki-led government didn’t rest on its oars as the present administration is working assiduously to ensure the security of lives and property in communities where farmers/herders’ clashes are prevalent.
In a recent Security Council meeting, Governor Godwin Obaseki said over 120 security personnel have been deployed to forests in the state, particularly the Ovia forest, to dislodge criminals from the area, assuring to deploy more security personnel to other forests across the state to prevent criminals from migrating to places that are currently enjoying peace.
Obaseki, while noting that the state government would continue to partner with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to curb every criminal activities, stated that his administration is strengthening its security architecture and improving collaboration among agencies to enhance security across Edo communities.
Speaking with Abutu Yaro, the new commissioner of police recently deployed to Edo State, the governor said: “I have been told that you have been putting in place an action programme to mop up those causing trouble for us, especially at the Ovia axis in the state.
“The key to our security success in the state is hinged on the synergy and collaboration among security agencies in the state and the police is the apex. Once we have a very cooperative and open commissioner who is ready to work with other sister agencies in the state, it will help tackle the security challenges.
“We will continue to invest in the security system and security architecture, and also support you in terms of logistics, equipment and operations,” Obaseki said.
