How Suspected Herdmen Attack, Kill, Raize Down Ondo Community; Akeredolu Vows To Treat Killers Like Criminals

AKURE – Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the Ondo State Governor, on Sunday, January 9, 2022, visited Omolege Junction near Ute in Ose Local Government Area of the state, where gunmen suspected to be Fulani Herdsmen killed three people and razed down buildings in the community overnight.

According to a release e-signed and made available to the media by Richard Olatunde, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Ondo State, Akeredolu, who commiserated with the people over the death of their loved ones, particularly the community head, said no government would be happy with the killings of the people.

The Governor visited the scene in company of the state Commissioner of Police, Oyediran Oyeyemi; Commander of Amotekun Corps, Tunji Adeleye; and some members of the state executive council.

Akeredolu, while describing the attack on the community as unfortunate, vowed that concerted efforts will be made to ensure that such attack does not reoccur in the state.

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 raised down, government will bring relieve material. We will rebuild the ones that were razed completely.”

Earlier, the Akarigbo of Ute Land, Chief Felix Olabode, narrated how the ugly incident happened.

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 have 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 brought 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 here. We are begging the government to come to our rescue.”

Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) in the area, Folorunso Olofe disclosed that the gunmen were always attacking with AK 47.

“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. Police came and evacuated the dead bodies and not up to fifteen minutes, they came back and razed this place”, he said.

According to the villagers, the gunmen attacked the community following the refusal of the residents to allow the herdsmen to graze on their farms.