No fewer than four persons are feared dead following a midnight attack by suspected herdsmen on Kikon, a village in the Numan Local Government of Adamawa State.
The herdsmen were said to have stormed the community around 1am on Sunday, burning down the entire village and killing two men and two women.
Othman Abubakar, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Adamawa State Police Command, confirmed the attack, adding that four people were killed in the incident.
Residents told one of our correspondents that the attackers drove into the town on motorcycles, carried out the attack and carted away foodstuffs and livestock belonging to the community.
A community leader, Dr John Gamsa, said that the security men deployed in the community did nothing to protect the villagers during the attack.
He said, “The deployment of five units of mobile policemen in our area was meant for the protection of Fulani herdsmen.
“The soldiers drafted to this area were just sitting and watching while the herdsmen have their fill of blood.
“As far as I am concerned, the only job of the policemen is to attack members of the community when they want to fight back against the Fulani herdsmen.
“Since the IG deployed his men in this area, the attacks have increased. The Federal Government is not sincere enough as it has not done anything to stop the attacks.”
Kikon is the eighth community that has been attacked in the Numan and Demsa areas between December 2017 and January 2018.
In a related development, at least one person has been killed in a fresh attack by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen at Onicha-Olona community, Delta State.
A middle-aged woman was allegedly raped in a different attack in Ovwor-Olomu in the Aniocha North and Ughelli South areas of the state.
It was gathered that the incident at Onicha-Olona occurred on Friday when the herdsmen shot the farmer dead after he refused to allow their cattle graze on his farm, which they later set ablaze.
The victim, whose identity could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report, reportedly hailed from Anambra State but had been living with members of his family in the community because of his farming business.
A community source said, “He challenged the herdsmen and refused to allow them to graze on his farm. They brought out a gun and shot him at close range. He fell and died on the spot.
“As I speak to you, there is tension in our community. Nobody knows what will happen next. The man’s corpse has just been taken to the Olona Police Station.”
In a similar attack in Ovwor-Olomu, where the suspected herdsmen also struck on Sunday, at least three persons were injured, while a woman was allegedly raped.
The victims, who were rushed to the Ughelli Central Hospital for treatment, were said to have sustained varying degrees of injury after they were attacked on their way to work in the early hours of Sunday.
The rape victim was said to be the only female among the victims attacked by the assailants.
A relative of one of the victims said, “My husband was on his way to work at about 4am when the Fulani men attacked him with a machete. He sustained injuries on his head and ear, but was able to escape.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Aniamaka, confirmed the killing at Onicha-Olona, adding that the police had launched a manhunt for the suspects.
Aniamaka could not, however, confirm the attack at Ovwor-Olomu in Ughelli South, saying he had not been briefed of the incident.
