Tension ran high in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Wednesday as farmers staged a protest following the alleged killing of five people by suspected herdsmen in Aba Oyinbo, a community in Akure North Local Government Area.
The attackers were said to have stormed the community in the early hours of the day, opening fire on residents.
The latest killings come barely two weeks after gunmen reportedly murdered at least 14 people in four other communities—Ademekun, Aba Pastor, Aba Sunday, and Alajido—all within the same local government area.
Angry farmers, chanting solidarity songs, marched to the Governor’s Office in large numbers, demanding urgent intervention from Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to stop the escalating attacks on rural communities.
One of the protesters, identified simply as Jonah, lamented the worsening insecurity, alleging that the attackers infiltrated Ondo State from Edo.
“We are being slaughtered without anyone doing anything. Akure North is under siege. We are farmers, not criminals. We are appealing to the governor, the police, the army, and Amotekun to save us before more lives are lost,” he said.
Security operatives have been swiftly deployed to the scene to prevent a breakdown of law and order, as tensions remained high among the protesters.
