By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
At least One person has loss his life when farmers and herders clashed in Ole-Esu community in Omalla local government area of Kogi State.
Our correspondent gathered that many cows also were allegedly killed when the trouble started on Saturday when migrating herders were sighted destroying crops in Ole-Esu community.
According to a resident, Abdullahi Ako who disclosed the incident to newsmen explained that, “Last weekend, tempers flared up and a crisis resulted between herders and residents of Ole-Esu community when farm products were allegedly destroyed. We were told that one person was killed and cows were allegedly killed.”
He noted that, “We are not against the herders passing through our land, but they should respect our own means of livelihood. It’s heart-wrecking to see what one laboured for months being destroyed within an hour.”
Another resident, Ebiloma Edime, said, “The herders should respect our source of food, income and livelihood as we respect theirs.”
For the fear of reprisal attacks, the locals appealed to the government at all levels and security agencies to come to their aid to nip in the bud.
The state’s police spokesman, SP William Aya, who confirmed the incident, said, “The situation is already calm. Police and other security agencies, including vigilantes and hunters, are keeping surveillance over the areas with keen interest.”
