Protesting residents of Ovia Northeast Local Government Area of Edo State stormed Government House, Benin with the corpse of one of the seven individuals murdered in their area by criminal herdsmen.
The protesters appeared at the government house on Thursday evening, Feb 18, with a three-day ultimatum for Governor Godwin Obaseki to ensure adequate security of lives and property.
They revealed that they resorted to taking the body to the State’s Government House because when the case was reported to the police in their area, they were simply told to deposit the body in the mortuary.
The protesters recounted that in the last few weeks, they had suffered the continuous killing of innocent residents of the area by the rampaging herdsmen.
Seven souls were slaughtered by criminal herdsmen in the farming communities of Ugboke, Oshodi, Okokodo, Ariyan and Yoruba camp in the LGA.
The leader of the protesters, Michael Idahosa, admitted that residents of the affected communities could no longer tolerate the continual onslaughts by the criminal herdsmen.
Michael Idahosa said “We are here to protest the killings by herdsmen in our communities. Governor Godwin Obaseki came to Ovia Northeast LGA in 2017 when herdsmen killed one of our persons and he promised to tackle the problem of herdsmen in our area, but the Edo State government did not address the issue.”
The protesters were received and attended to by Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, who then reassured the state government would increase actions at providing satisfactory security to examine the surging spate of the activities of killer herdsmen in the state.
Shaibu announced “As a state, we have made up our mind not to lament, but to look for solutions on how to protect our country and our state.
“There was also an attack in the early hours of today in Niger State. It is a national problem. As we speak now, Governor Obaseki and other governors are in Abuja to discuss this insecurity issue in our country.
“You will remember that we are bringing in local vigilance members to collaborate with law enforcement agencies. We are strengthening our system and we will still need your support.
“We do not want to take laws into our own hands, but at the same time, we cannot fold our arms and watch the people kill us. Take it easy; some bodies are yet to be found, I have discussed with the security agencies. Their personnel will move into the area.
“I can assure you that they will recover the bodies of all the victims and we will intensify the security in the area.
“We will categorise the area as one of the flashpoints in Edo State. So that you can sleep with your eyes closed.”