Yekini Jimoh – Lokoja
The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello has charged security agencies in the state to unravel the attackers of three communities in Dekina Local Government Area to put an end to such a dastardly act of inhumanity.
Bello stated this when he visited Aloko Oganenigu one of the three communities where herdsmen allegedly attacked, killed innocent people and burnt many houses.
Governor Bello who was represented by his deputy Edward Onoja described the killings of people and destruction of property as barbaric, assuring that the perpetrators of the heinous act must be apprehended and prosecuted to put an end to such an ugly situation.
“The attack is barbaric though such incident is not very frequent in Kogi state but in 2018 one of the adjoining communities experienced such an attack that made the governor visit the community despite the difficult terrains.
“This recent attack will be the end as the government will not relent until the needs are done to give the communities peace of mind. Nobody can come to the state to kill people and go back freely, we must arrest them and bring them to book,” he said.
One of the locals Elder David Abemaji, an indigene of Aloko Oganenigu explained that the attackers stormed the community on Sunday morning between the hours of 6 am and 7 am when the people were preparing to go for church service.
He said the attackers who are suspected to be Fulani herdsmen numbering over one hundred entered the community with guns and gallons of petrol used in killing people and set over fifty houses ablaze.
Giving the breakdown of casualties Abemaji said five people were killed in Aloko Oganenigu, three people were killed in Elede community and two persons were killed in Ojuole community.
According to him, the attackers were also planning to unleash terror on the people of Ojoapata, Ojole and Ubaobu communities.
The local who stated that the communities did not have any dispute with the herdsmen before the killing and destruction of property, appealed to Kogi state government to take a proactive measure in finding a lasting solution to the attack, noting that this is the second time the three communities were attacked by the herdsmen.
Also narrating his ordeals, Arome Atabor a father of four children said he relocated from Kano to Aloko Oganenigu his community six years ago to start farming in order to train his children but the unfortunate incident has led to the burning of his house.
He appealed to the state government to provide them with adequate security and come to their aid to enable them rebuild their houses destroyed by the attackers.
The Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command Akeem Yusuf said some mobile policemen have been drafted to the affected communities, assuring that the security agents will remain there till there is total peace in the three communities.
He also mentioned that investigation is ongoing to unravel the perpetrators of the heinous act against humanity.
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