Residents, including farmers, stormed the Palace of the Soun of Ogbomosoland in protest against the invasion of suspected Fulani herders on their farmland in Oriire Local Government Area, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
The invasion had resulted in the death of innocent farmers, while the herds of cattle grazed upon crops worth millions of naira in the past.
It will be recalled that a cleric in one of the Pentecostal churches, identified as Evangelist Segun Adegboyega, was killed while working on his farmland at Gege village along Ogbomoso-Iseyin road last month.
Disturbed by the trend, the residents in their hundreds took the peaceful protest to the palace of the Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Ghandi Olaoye at Oja-gbo area recently.
They sought the swift intervention of the monarch in putting an end to the killings, maimings, and destruction of crops on their farmlands by the suspected herders.
They added that they have been deprived of access to their farmland.
The protesters said, “We are tired of the atrocities of these Bororo herdsmen. They destroy our farms, kill our people, machete us, slash off our hands, and act as if we are their slaves.
“They even rape women in the farm. Now, we can’t go to our farms again, and we are hungry.”
The spokesperson for the group who identified himself as Chief Aremu Ogundare disclosed that they came from three villages in Oriire Local Government – Kedo Arigbeyo, Kedo Salami, and Mosunmaje.
They lamented that they had to come to Soun to seek his assistance because the herders have persisted in their destructive activities.
“Cows have become a menace to us; the problem escalated about four or five years ago. We don’t enjoy farming any longer; all the cassava we cultivated was destroyed by them. No one has any cassava in the farm again.
“Then, our cashew farms we thought of falling back on; they would take their cows there in the night to eat them off. To feed our families now is hard; we can’t train our children in school.
Those in higher institutions have returned because we couldn’t raise funds to sponsor them any longer; feeding also is a problem. That’s the reason we came here with a save-our-soul message.”
“We discussed it several times; we were at the police station; we reported to the local government chairman; none yielded any solution. They persisted.
“They machete us, threaten oftentimes; if anyone resists them, they would kill them. Women can’t go to the farm any longer, even we men, we venture out in fear, out of compunction because we must feed our families.”
He added that the “destroyers” forcefully take over lands, “nobody gave them land; they will come and erect settlements on any land of their choice and begin to perpetrate their nefarious activities. We are fed up, we are helpless, that’s the reason we have come to seek the assistance of our royal father.”
The Saturday Tribune recalls that the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Olaoye, appealed to the people of the town to remain calm over the incident, assuring them that those responsible for the killing would not go unpunished.
Oba Olaoye promised to work with security agents to get justice for the family of the deceased.
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The monarch said, “As your father, I wish to say, this is an ugly situation, and it is uncalled for. I have spoken my mind to the Area Commander of Owode Police Headquarters, who is here with me, and I want to assure you that justice would be served.
“I equally sympathize with every one of you; may God continue to watch over you and the entire land of Ogbomoso.”
