Killer herdsmen have been on a rampage in parts of Nigeria’s western region, killing farmers and setting ablaze operational vehicles of the region’s security network agency.
Their attacks have also led to the closure of schools in Ogun State.
In Sanusi Village in the Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, the herdsmen killed at least two people – a farmer and a member of a vigilante group in the area.
They also burnt vehicles of the Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as Amotekun Corps were also reportedly set ablaze by the bandits.
In Ogun State, the state government has begun recruitment of Amotekun operatives, following worsening attacks by the herdsmen.
On Thursday, gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen attacked Owode-Ketu and Ijoun villages in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of Ogun State and reportedly killed two persons.
The attack in the Ondo village, also on Thursday, took place when the Amotekun men and other security agents were enforcing the eviction order of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, to the effect that all herdsmen hiding occupying the forest reserves in the state must be evicted.
In a statement, the spokesman for Amotekun in the state, Adebayo Ayeni, said men of the agency had recorded a major breakthrough in their efforts to rid Ondo of the criminals.
According to him, the herdsmen were piling up arms and ammunitions to invade the entire State while masquerading as herders and using the forest as kidnappers den for negotiation and ransom, illegal mining activities, and cultivation of Indian hemp.
“The Security outfits in conjunction with the Police, the Army, and other security agencies in the State, however, smoked them out of the forest, after it was discovered that the bandits had killed a farmer and a member of the vigilante group in the Area,” he said.
“They also went to the village where an Amotekun vehicle was parked and set it ablaze,” he added.
