Loading ...Residents of Mmiata Anam, Umuenwelum and other communities in Anambra West local government Area of Anambra state are living in fear following speculations that armed herdsmen had infiltrated the area to carryout bloody attacks.
The alleged massive arrival of armed herdsmen through speed boats at Onono beach over the weekend came barely 48 hours after some herders were driven out of the area by angry youths in aftermath of a farmer that was attacked at Mmiata farm settlement.
Orient Daily gathered from a reliable source that the latest herders/farmers crisis occurred last Friday when a farmer was nearly butchered to death by unknown herdsmen. A video clip of the farmer allegedly butchered by suspected herdsmen during the confrontation in the area provoked umbrage on social media.
“After the attack, youths in the area mobilized and chased away the herdsmen and their cattle from their camps. On Sunday after the election, there was speculation that the Fulani herdsmen had regrouped and were coming back into the area in large numbers through Onono. That prompted many people to flee from the area”, he said.
Reacting to the latest development, Mr. Nnamdi Anekwe-Chive, a security expert and political leader in the area, urged the state and federal government to urgently find lasting solution to the herders/farmers clashes in the area. Describing the latest tension as worrisome, Anekwe-Chive who is the Anambra West state Assembly candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said: “Our major concern is the bloody dimension of the herders/farmers clashes in recent times because Anambra West is a peaceful agrarian settlement and people rely mostly on farming for survival. So, having these clashes would definitely lead to a lot of displacement of farmers and destruction of crops.
He argued that the lease agreement reportedly reached by state government, some community leaders and these herdsmen that granted them grazing rights on lands in the area remain suspect and should be terminated. “We are being told that government is going to compensate those whose crops were damaged, yet investigations revealed that there has never been such compensations.
“Our position is that whatever agreements between the government, community leaders and herders should be terminated and their monies refunded back so that they can leave Anambra West”, he adds.
He called for adequate security beef up in the area to stem escalation of violence in the area. “We have seen military patrol and police check points in the area in recent time and we hope that would boost confidence peace, but we haven’t seen a satisfactory approach from the government on how to resolve the conflict. We will like to see proactive measures that would lead to permanent resolution of conflicts between farmers and herders in the area and the only way to resolve such problem is to stop herders from coming into contacts with farmers and their crops.
“At the moment, when you drive through communities in Anambra west, we see large numbers of herders and their cattle grazing on people’s farmland and whenever they are confronted, it usually leads to conflict. And in absence of government’s structured intervention, they usually take laws into their hands.
On the forthcoming state assembly election in the area, Anekwe-Chive said. “One of the major challenges we have is the recent internecine conflict between Umuenwelum and Nzam communities and though the recent peace accord that was signed had brought calm, the current herders/farmers conflict has also displaced many people from their farm settlements and villages. And we are worried that if there is no resolution of the crisis, these people would be disenfranchised. So, we are appealing to government to beef up security in these flash points to prevent further bloodshed so that people can vote without fear.
Orient Daily was informed that the Anambra West local government transition committee chairman, Mr. Sylvester Okafor had issued a formal report to the state government, requesting for a follow up on Governor Willie Obiano’s earlier pledge to the people of the area that the herdsmen would operate peacefully until they leave the area.
Efforts to get reactions from the Anambra state police command yielded no positive results as the state public relations officer, Haruna Mohammed was yet to respond to our official enquiries on the incident as at press time.
