By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE people of Agbede community in Etsako West local government area of Edo State have said that kidnapping and killing in the community has remained unabated and that its surrounding villages and forests have been take over by suspected herdsmen who they accused of killing and maiming those who could not pay ransom, raping women and dislodging farmers from their farmlands.

According to them, Agbede and its surrounding villages, including Odighie, Egono and Awain have been under siege in the past two months and that efforts to get the assistance of the police in the area have ended in futilities as they accused the police of complicity alleging that a senior police officer from the northern part of the country is allegedly covering up the criminals.

“Farm destruction, killings, rapes, and kidnappings for ransom have become disturbingly common and the police, instead of protecting the communities, they seem to be aiding and abetting the Fulani herders against the aborigines.

“The DPO at the Agbede Police Station, the Police Area Command in Auchi, and the Zone Five Office in Benin are not helping matters as we are suspecting them to be backing the herders with lining orders which is now creating fear amongst the people over their genuine protection and safety.”

Throwing more light, a member of the community who did not want his name on the print accused the police of using blackmail, harassment, and detention to intimidate vigilantes and hunters who dare to challenge the Fulani invaders.

The man alleged that they are forced to sign undertakings not to confront the herders, and those arrested in connection with these atrocities are released within a few hours of arrest.

“Mamudu Momoh was attacked on his farm after he met some herdsmen taking over the farms, uprooting his cassava to feed their cows and in the process, he was attacked and injured. He went to the Agbede Police Division to report the case. The case was later turned against him, he was arrested and taken to Zone 5, where he was detained, and the community spent a lot of money to secure his release.

“There is another farmer in the community, Idris, who has been kidnapped by the herdsmen for over a month now and ransom has been paid, the man is yet to be released up till today.

“We are asking the inspector general of police to withdraw the DPO of the Agbede Police division who is a Northerner without which the Agbede community will never know peace in the hands of the herdsmen who are everywhere in our bush claiming to be hunters.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Command, CSP Moses Yamu debunked the allegations, saying that the officers and men of Agbede Police division have been working round the clock to deal with the herdsmen situation in the area.

He said the police in Agbede, with a backup from Auchi Area command,d have arrested over ten suspected kidnappers in that axis who are currently being investigated.

CSP Yamu also said that the Agbede community were not fair to the police in their protest, especially to the zone 5 Command, saying that the AIG of the zone has just assumed duty in less than two weeks and for the community to be accusing the police of aiding and abetting herdsmen in their areas is unfair.

The PPRO said the Edo state police command will continue to make efforts to repel the menace of kidnapping and other criminal activities in the state.