Oyigbo Farmers Raise Alarm Over Herdsmen Threat

Farmers in Oyigbo Local Government Area (LGA) of Fivers State have raised alarm over the activities of intrudes s on farms in the area uspected to be herdsmen.
In a separate chat with The Tide at Mirinwanyi-Asa Community of the LOA, a farmer and father of four, Mr. Ndubuisi Ozuruonye said unknown bandits believed to be herdsmen attack farmers on daily basis destroying their farm crops worth thousauds of naira.
Ozuruonye maintained that a farmer, Chizoba Lawrence, was reportedly missing in her farm in the community, while several others were seriously injured and currently receiving treatment in various hospitals in the state.
He said farmers in the area stayed at home for fear of being attacked by the herdsmen in the farms.
Ozuruonye, who expressed dismay over the prevalent attacks by the suspected herdsmen, blamed the police and the council authorities for not performing their routine duties of securing the lives and property of the people despite several appeals and reports to the Divisional Police Headquarters at Oyigbo and the council headquarters at Okolorna-Afam.
Another farmer, Eberechi Okere who has over 80 hectares of cassava farm, narrated that the suspected herdsmen always chased farmers away with arrows and daggers while feeding their cows with crops in the farms.
She explained that each time they t:ied to chase cows away from their farms, the herdsmen from their hide-outs would attack us with arrows and daggers, sometimes guns, chasing, us out of the farms to allow their cows feed on our crops.
Okere used the opportunity to call on the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike and the security agencies to come quickly to their aid to save farmers in the area from starvation and being killed by the herdsmen.
According to her, “if something tangible is not done to check the excesses of the herdsmen and remove fear from the farmers in the area, the price of food stuffs would be sky rocked and this will affect the living standard of the people in the area and the state in general.”
Efforts made by this Correspondent to reach the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Oyigbo Divisional Police Headquarters and the Chairman of Oyigbo LGA, Prince Gerald Oforji for their comments on the matter proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.

Bethel Toby