Tobias Sylvester
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has vowed to deal with the suspected Fulani herdsmen who allegedly attacked the Molege community in Ute, Ose Local Government Area of the state.
KanyiDaily had reported how suspected herdsmen attacked Molege community on Thursday night over the refusal of the villagers to allow the herders and their cows to feed on their farmlands.
The headers killed three persons and razed the community leaving villagers fleeing their homes and scampering for safety while their properties were destroyed by the attackers.
Akeredolu visited the community on Sunday in company of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Oyediran Oyeyemi, the Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Akogun Tunji Adeleye, and some members of the state executive council.
During the visit, the governor commiserated with the people of the community over the death of their loved ones, vowing to deal with the perpetrators of the dastardly act, saying concerted efforts would be made to forestall future occurrence of such in the state.
Akeredolu Condemns Attack In Molege Community
He said, “I commiserate with you on the death of your loved ones. May their souls rest in peace. No government will be happy with this kind of development.
“But you have to be prepared. These herdsmen are becoming too problematic. We are not sleeping. You can see police and Amotekun here. With this one they have done, we will ensure that it is their last evil act here.
“Those behind this are criminals. Those supporting them are all criminals too. Anyone who commits crime will answer for it. The police and Amotekun with other security agencies will set out and bring them to justice. We will treat them like criminals.
“Both the police and Amotekun have briefed me that they were being shot at. But for their boldness and courage, the criminals would have overwhelmed them.
“I want to assure you, don’t be scared. We are still on their track. They have ran to Edo now. But for the houses that were razed down, government will bring relieve materials. We will rebuild the ones that were razed completely.”
Earlier, the monarch of Uteland, Chief Felix Olabode, lamented the incessant attack of the herdsmen on his people, calling on the government to come to their aids.
He said, ”I was home when we heard that some gunmen came and killed people here. We came here immediately and we met a dead body. These buildings had not been razed.
“When we alerted the police, the DPO came and we didn’t know that those people were still around. Not less than 30 minutes after the police evacuated the dead bodies, the gunmen came back and razed these buildings down.
“They always use guns to scare people away here and then bring their cows to graze on people’s farm and drink water. When they are leaving too, they also use guns to scare people away and leave. We have seen the level of damage here. People have left the community. We are begging the government to come to our rescue.”
Similarly, the Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress in the area, Mr Folorunso Olofe, narrated that the herdsmen were more than 50 that attack the community with AK-47 guns.
“This has been happening for long. They are always coming with AK-47, they were more than 50. One Amotekun officer was hit with a bullet during the attack. They came and killed the Baale.
“The police came and evacuated the dead bodies and not up to fifteen minutes, they came back and razed down this place,” Olofe narrated.
KanyiDaily recalls that Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom had asked President Buhari to declare all the Fulani socio-cultural groups and terrorist organizations.
