Tension in Ondo Community over death of suspected herder

DAMISI OJO, Akure

Police in Okeagbe, Akoko Northwest local government area of Ondo State are unravelling the circumstances behind the mysterious death of a man identified as a cattle rearer whose lifeless body was discovered in a forest at Ajowa, in Akoko Northwest local government area over the weekend.

Police findings revealed that a cow was injured at the scene of the incident indicating that the deceased might be a herder.

Another source said some itinerant cattle rearers migrated to Igasi, Eriti and Ajowa probably from Ekiti states or Ayere in Kogi State in large numbers over the weekend.

However, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Okeagbe Akoko, Superintendent of Police (SP) Unnah Paulinus, confirmed that a corpse was recovered from a distant forest in Ajowa area and already deposited at the State Specialist Hospital, Ikare-Akoko while investigation on the matter is still ongoing.

As at press time, there was anxiety and panic around the farm settlements in the forest over the incident.

Meanwhile, traditional rulers in Akoko Northwest local government area of the state had called on people to respect the law forbidding open grazing in the state as approved by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in order to bring lasting peace to incessant farmers/herders clashes.

The chairman of the traditional council and the Akala of Ikaram of Akoko, Oba Andrew Momodu expressed the need for all towns and villages in the area to organise local vigilante groups and local hunters that will complement the efforts of the available regular security agents.

The monarch described the shortage of manpower in the Police Force as a very serious problem which the federal government must address very urgently.

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