News filtered in yesterday night that some Fulani Bororo herders had converged at a road intersection at Samaday area, Ogbomoso, with their mission unknown.
Their number though could not be ascertained but it was said to be beyond a tolerable figure, consequently raising panic and tension in the area.
Promptly, residents alerted members of Amotekun security network in Ogbomoso South local government area and also members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), who took no time in responding to the distress call. It is learnt that operatives of Agro Rangers, a unit of the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps, were also invited.
While this was going on, there were reports of sighting of other suspects at Arinkinkin area, who were also chased away.
“However, before we arrived there, the suspected bandits had moved away probably they suspected they had been discovered. The residents of the area had mobilized themselves too and had gathered, monitoring the movement of the suspects,” began the OPC leader in Ogbomoso zone, Chief Babatunde Alabede during a telephone chat with ogbomosoinsightonline.com.
Continuing, Alabede disclosed, “By the time our boys and Amotekun operatives got there the suspects who were armed with guns, cutlasses, swords and other assault weapons had fled, we chased them all night in the bush and we were able to apprehend one of them, who had a cutlass in his possession. In fact, we caught him as he tried to flee through a marshy area.
“But he claimed he was looking for his cow, looking for your cow at night? We queried him. But he insisted that was his mission. He gave no useful information about the others. Meanwhile, the suspect has been taken into custody by Amotekun operatives.”
Alabede commended the residents of the area for swiftly alerting security operatives of the strange gathering of the herdsmen averring that if they had not acted promptly it could have led to a calamitous situation.
“In this period of national security emergency, all citizens must be security conscious and promptly report strange faces in their areas,” the OPC leader fondly called Alabede Oosa submitted.
He however lamented the challenges being faced by the security group he heads, “We are constrained seriously, we spend our money to buy what we need to defend ourselves, that is, the little allowed by the laws of the land; also transporting our boys is another serious challenge, we rely on motorcycles of our members.
“Yet, when there is security emergency people are quick to call on us. Even, yesterday, our boys were without weapons but they still went after the suspects barehanded. People should rally round and assist us so that we can be more effective.”
It will be recalled that suspected Fulani herdsmen and bandits have wreaked a lot of havocs across the country, killing, maiming, raping and causing farm destructions. The recent Igangan massacre in Ibarapa area of Oyo state readily comes to mind in which over twenty persons were reportedly killed and properties worth millions of naira razed down including the palace of Oba Igangan, a petrol station, vehicles and so on. Sadly, no arrest has been made by security agencies.
