•Armed Fulani herdsmen
Aggrieved women of Yenizue-Gene and Okutukutu communities in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, yesterday, barricaded the Melford Okilo Road in protest of alleged rape, harassment and destruction of their farmlands by Fulani herdsmen.
For several hours, the protesters halted vehicular movement as they laid siege on the busy road by erecting canopies and chairs where they displayed their cassava tubers and plants destroyed by cows, reports Vanguard.
Motorists and other road users were forced to make detour between Okutukutu and Yenizue-Gene axis of the road to beat the blockades.
The angry women rebuffed the entreaties of the police to dismantle the blockade insisting that the state anti-open grazing law be implemented to the letter and the offending herders brought to justice.
It was learnt that an elderly woman was recently raped on her farm by the Fulani herdsmen who have taken over their forest.
Angered by the development and the incessant attacks of the herdsmen, the women stormed the road as early as 6a.m., to register their grievances.
Armed with placards some of which read: “They are raping our women, government help us,” “Protest we don’t fight cow,” “Govt help us remove cows from our farms,” ” They are harvesting our cassava to feed their cows,” among others:
One of the protesters, Madam Gift, a mother of three, lamented the hardship they are going through in the hands of the rampaging herders, saying “Many of our people have stopped going to their farms because of the constant attacks and destruction of their farms by the herdsmen.”
Also, Bonus Wombu, the provost Marshal of Oguan, a retiree decried what he described as the inability of the government to protect them from the marauding herdsmen.
He said: “Yes, I am worse off. I am a retiree and I have many farms in the bush but as I speak with you, my only source of livelihood has been destroyed.
“Sadly, the government enacted the anti open grazing law sometimes in 2021, but the government is not doing enough to protect our people. That is our problem.
“Only recently, they have raped one woman at Amarata farm. So, we cannot sit back here and watch invaders take over our forest. The government should implement the law they have enacted.”
At press time, the state Commissioner of Police, Alonyenu Idu was meeting with the protesters.
NDPM decries killings by herdsmen in Niger Delta, calls for govt intervention
Meanwhile, the Niger Delta Peoples Movement, NDPM, has condemned the recent massacre of community members in Edo and Bayelsa states by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
The group noted that the attacks, which is part of a recurring cycle of violence in the region, has once again raised concerns about the safety of residents and the apparent inaction of the government on the matter.
NDPM in a statement by its Convener, Mr. Ejiro Ineneji, said: “How long shall they kill our people while we sit and wait for justice from the government? This has been a recurrent incident, we are tired of these herdsmen invading our farms and destroying our agricultural developments and due to our government doing little or nothing to protect the people, the herdsmen have decided to embark on massacre of the Niger Delta people in their sleep.
“In Edo State, the victims were killed in their sleep, while others were burned alive as their homes were set ablaze, and elsewhere in the Niger Delta, same atrocities are being perpetrated.
“We are demanding immediate intervention from the Edo State government and other Niger Delta states, they should wake up and take decisive action to prevent further bloodshed.”
