Delta women protest continuous attack by Fulani herdsmen
- About 1000 women blocked the East-West highway in Delta state to protest an alleged incessant molestation and attack by Fulani herdsmen
- The protest came as a result of a fresh attack on woman early Wednesday morning
About a thousand (1000) women of Orhorho community barricaded the East-West Road, Ughelli, Delta Today, January 18, to protest incessant molestation and attack by Fulani herdsmen in the state.
According to a report by Vanguard, the protest constituted by mothers and daughters, numbering about 1, 000, sat on benches and woods on the expressway, and blocked the highway at about 7.30 am, following a brutal attack on a woman that went to farm Wednesday morning.
The victim, who refused the attempt by the Fulani herdsmen to forcefully have carnal knowledge of her, was cut severally with machete by her assailants. She was left for dead while her assailants ran away.
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Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Delta command, DSP Andrew Aniamaka, said the police were aware of the peaceful protest by the women, and were monitoring the action with a view to calming down nerves and clearing the road.
While some of the women sat on the road, others demonstrated around the area with placards, some of which bore the inscriptions, “We don’t want Fulani herdsmen on our land,” “Where is Okowa, come and rescue us,” “Security agencies, do your work,” “No farm, no road for anybody to pass.”
The protest led to a heavy traffic on the road, while the women rejected entreaties by the police and army to vacate the road.
The women vowed to remain on the road until the state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, comes to address them on way out. One of the women leaders told our reporter: “We not want Hausa people on our land, they are molesting our women, the ones that refuse to be molested, they will butcher them with cutlass, they are lords even in our bush with their cattle.”
She said: “They have molested up to 10 women in recent months and some persons are dead. The women that was attacked this morning is lying on the ground there in front of a chemist shop.”
Another villager added: “A native, Rufus, who went to the farm, was killed December 25, last year, these people are armed with AK 47 rifles and other sophisticated weapons.”
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Meanwhile, days after sending a letter to residents of Samaru Kataf in Zangon Kataf local government area, suspected Fulani herdsmen have reportedly attacked the town located in the southern part of Kaduna, killing three.
The letter was supposedly written by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Kaduna state chapter and dated January 10, 2017 as it carried the body’s letter head and written in Hausa.
Accordingly the letter allegedly warned that it was targeting Ugwan Gaiya and Mabushi in Zangon Kataf local government area but did not give a specific date.
Source: Legit.ng
