Suspected Fulani Herdsmen Kill 4 In Abraka

By John Tega

Fulani herdsmen have reportedly killed one Mr. Kennedy Ukuanovwe, a resident in Abraka of Ethiope East Local Government Area in Delta State and three others.

Oasis Magazine (OM) gathered that late Ukuanovwe is an indigene of Urhuovie and resident in Urhuoka, both communities in Abraka, before his gruesome murder along the Benin-Abraka Road on his way home yesterday on his motorbike.

The other three also killed along the said road occurred this morning. Their identities are yet to be unraveled.

According to a family relative who does not want his name in print, bullet wounds and several machete cuts were found on the body of the deceased and the corpse has since been deposited in one of the morgues in town.

Late Ukuanovwe according to a family source was in his late 40s, popularly known as a pepper soup seller in Urhuoka and survived by seven children.

Reacting to the sad news, a family member, Prince Godstime Ukuanovwe, opined that the claim by the lawmaker representing the constituency, Chief Evance Ivwurie that the Fulani herdsmen killings were a thing of the past was a farce.

According to him, the herdsmen killings were never dealt with.

He described the death of his uncle as a great loss and painful, adding that the wife of the deceased has a child less than a year old that has been made fatherless by the herders.

Oasis Magazine (OM) contacted the President General, Chief Emmanuel Idogho and the Urhuoka Vigilante Chairman, Godday Agoh.

Chief Idogho lamented the situation, saying that he was grieved with how his people were under attack by the herdsmen.

He said: “Before now, I was able to call Ivwurie, the lawmaker representing the area, but not now anymore since members of Abraka community worked against him during the last election.”

He however called on the state government to mobilize army operatives to Benin-Abraka Road to curb the robbery attacks perpetrated by suspected Fulani herdsmen along that route, saying that the situation was beyond the police.

On his part, Agoh disclosed that vigilante members could not do anything about the situation because they are not well equipped.

Continuing, he said the killings do not look like a robbery operation because none of the valuables in the possession of those killed (like cash and phone) was taken away by the killers.

Furthermore, he disclosed that of the four killed, only Ukuanovwe was an indigene, saying that the other three were however resident in Urhuoka Community.

At the moment, indigenes of Urhuoka are said to be putting plans in place to organize a massive protest over the killings.