Fear and anxiety have gripped residents of Edjekota-Ogor community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State following renewed attacks by suspected armed Fulani herders, leaving one resident hospitalised with gunshot and machete injuries.
The community’s President-General, Pastor Oghenemakpo Uyo, who spoke to journalists, lamented that the once peaceful agrarian community has come under repeated attacks by suspected herders operating from nearby bushes. He alleged that the latest attack occurred at about 8 p.m. last week when a young father returning home after purchasing food for his three-month-old baby was ambushed along the Oviri-Ogor/Edjekota-Ogor Road.
According to Uyo, the assailants allegedly ordered the victim to accompany them to an unknown destination, but when he refused, they attacked him with machetes before opening fire on him. He said the sound of the gunshots alerted members of the community vigilante, whose arrival forced the attackers to flee into the surrounding bush. The community leader claimed the suspects abandoned a cutlass and a bag containing food items, cigarettes and a bottle allegedly filled with ammunition during their escape.
The victim, who is currently receiving treatment in hospital and requested that his identity be withheld, narrated his ordeal, saying: “I had gone to buy food for my baby when they suddenly emerged and asked me to follow them. When I refused, they started cutting me with a machete and shot me several times. They were three, armed with rifles and speaking Hausa language. I survived only because the community vigilante arrived, forcing them to run away.”
Uyo further alleged that two days after the incident, another group of suspected herders emerged from the same bush to purchase food in the community but were apprehended by residents and handed over to the Divisional Police Officer of ‘A’ Division, Ughelli, along with items allegedly recovered from them. He also disclosed that operatives of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) narrowly escaped an ambush by the same suspected attackers while on official duty in the area.
Also condemning the development, House of Representatives aspirant for Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Obakpororo Johnny, appealed to both the Federal Government and the Delta State Government to urgently reinforce security in Edjekota-Ogor and other vulnerable communities in Ughelli North. He warned that unless decisive action is taken, residents may continue to live in fear.
Meanwhile, efforts to obtain the reaction of the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, proved unsuccessful as calls to his telephone lines were not answered as of the time of filing this report.
