No fewer than two persons were killed in a Monday morning attack by suspected herdsmen at Iyemero Ekiti in Ikole local government area of Ekiti State.
Three other persons were injured while many others were displaced from their residence following the night attack by the suspected arms-bearing herders at Eda, a community under Iyemero.
Sources in Iyemero said the deceased include one Danjuma Ali, a farmer, and a yet to be identified person. Their bodies had been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital, Ikole Ekiti.
A source said the injured persons – Mrs Jennifer Akoko, Mr Joseph Achebe and one other whose identity could not be ascertained were undergoing treatment at the Emergency Section of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti (FETHI).
The source, who said the attacks and killings had been recurrent event, said:
“Some herders called Bororo stormed the farmstead and shot these innocent people. They came around 1 am and were there till dawn.
“Our farmers are all afraid to go their farmsteads. They all rushed to the palace of the Olu of Iyemero Ekiti, Oba Ebenezer Ogungbemi, to take refuge. We are mourning today at Iyemero, we are not happy about this incident and the government must do something about it”, he said.
The monarch and his Council, who spoke through the palace spokesman, Chief Ayo Abejide, restated calls for the establishment of a police station in the town to curb the invaders.
The monarch said:
“These Fulani herders stormed the community through the border of Iyemero at Eruku in Kwara State. This makes Iyemero, a porous exit and entrant, which portend dangers and insecurity to the community, Ikole Local Government and the state in general.”
The community, which sought the urgent intervention of the state government, said there was an urgent need for the teeming population of farmers in the farmstead to be protected and secured by the security agencies from imminent attacks.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, said he had not been briefed about the matter.
