Many injured as farmers, herders clash in Oyo State

Many residents of Ikoyi-Ile, Orire Local Government, Oyo State, were on Saturday injured in a clash between them and herdsmen in the area.

The residents, most of them farmers, had threatened to resort to further self-help if the Oyo State government failed to protect them from suspected herdsmen they alleged had been terrorising their community.

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The farmers alleged the herders had killed one of them, raped their minors, destroyed their farmlands and had been terrorizing their community, giving them sleepless nights.

A chieftaincy title holder in the local government, the Babalaje (chief trader) of Agbe, Chief Joseph Oyekola, told our correspondent that the herdsmen were “seriously disturbing” the farmers in the community and urged he state government to intervene.

Oyekola said, “We don’t know what to do. If we take any step to revenge, it might lead to bloodshed. We want the government to take the necessary steps. Our king, who is supposed to defend us, has failed in his duties; he is now supporting the herdsmen against us.

“Herdsmen cut off the hands of one of our workers on the farm. They destroyed our farm produce. Another farmer was macheted on the head and some others were injured, while two of our minors were raped.”

A farmer, Usman Daudu, alleged that herdsmen destroyed 20 hectares of his farmland on which he planted maize, yam and tomato, adding they also injured him on the head with cutlasses as he attempted to chase them away.

Another farmer, Dominic Gbegbi, said the herdsmen destroyed his produce and macheted him 14 times when they invaded his farm with their cows.

The Onikoyi of Ikoyi-Ile, Oba Abdul-Yekeen Atilola Oladipupo, however, said that he had been making efforts to initiate peaceful co-existence between the farmers and herders in the area.

Oba Oladipupo said, “We have tried to resolve the issue many times because it’s difficult to separate farmers from herders. We have been living together for a while. I have taken a lot of steps on the matter to find a lasting solution to it, but it seems my efforts are not enough, so we need government’s intervention.

“I’ve had series of meetings with all the Baales (local chiefs) around me to find a permanent solution to the issue. In fact, I even had meetings with the Assistant Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police and they assured me they would come to our aid.”