Okutukutu-Epie women in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) appeal to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, to come to their aid over threat on their lives by herdsmen in the community.
The plea for urgent intervention is coming on the heels of alleged repeated destruction of their crops and farmlands by herdsmen, saying that all efforts made to stop these herders and their cattle from destroying crops and farmlands have been unsuccessful.
Arising from a meeting at the Okutukutu-Epie town hall, Mrs Tina Etime, who spoke on behalf the women said there had been constant harrasment, threat of rape from the herders, adding that some of the herders even bear dangerous weapon.
Etime stated that because of the constant destruction of the crops and farmlands the women decided to report the matter to the police in company of the the community’s Paramount ruler and to their surprise police detained the former woman leaders, Mrs Sarah Wilcox, Mrs Ovieya Franklin and Mrs Victoria Emmanuel.
“For over 10 years now these herders have been eating and destroying our crops until last year November the women had to report the matter to the police. Even the men of the community are afraid of the herdsmen because of what has been happening in northern part of the country, where there has been clashes between cattle rearers and farmers. “What is most annoying is that after we have cultivated our crops in the morning, these herders with their cattle will invade our farms in the evening and destroy what was planted in the morning. Some of these herders normally threaten us for daring to challenge them.
“As it is we the women are even afraid to go to our farms, because we do not know what will happen to us if these herders confront us as they normally bear dangerous weapon. They even boasted that our cassava leaves give their cattle enough breast milk as if that is not enough they said that the land doesn’t belong to us. We want the government to come and help us as we are helpless and do not know what to do to stop these cattle from destroying our farmlands. Our source of livelihood is being threatened and if we don’t go to farm what will we eat? So we want government to do something about our plights,” she stated.
Also speaking, Assistant Secretary of Okutukutu-Epie Women Council, Mrs Jesinta Okiese, said that the women of the community were not doing any other work apart from farming, and through the produce they take care of their families.
“ If things continue as they are we don’t know what will happen next, we are praying that it doesn’t lead to killings. We are appealing to government to come to our rescue from the daily threat and harrasment from these herdsmen”. she said.
Condemning destruction of the crops and farmlands by herders as well as the detention of the Epie women by the Police, the Provost Marshall Epie-Atissa Developmental Assembly Chief Bunas Wumbo, accused the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police of doing the bidding of his paymasters by looking the other way when matters that concern the destruction of crops and farmlands by herdsmen are reported.
Chief Wumbo noted that the laws of Nigeria did not provide for cattle rearers to use their cattle to destroy farmlands belonging to others, but rather animals should be confined to a particular place to prevent from straying about.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells Yenagoa