Three farmers were reportedly killed by gunmen suspected to be herders in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.
DAILY POST learnt that the farmers whose identities were yet to be ascertained were killed in the Okpekpe community while one was attacked in the Itsukwi community in the locality.
It was also learned that seven others were alleged to have escaped with matchete cuts from the suspected herders during the attack while the victims’ throats were slit with a knife by the rampaging gunmen
The incident was said to have happened on Monday when the farmers were ambushed by the gunmen.
A source in the community who spoke to newsmen said there have been a series of attacks by gunmen suspected to be herders leading to the death of several farmers in the community and its neighboring communities.
Confirming the incident, the chairman of Etsako East Local Government Council, Benedicta Attoh, lamented the spate of killings by alleged herdsmen and militias.
Attoh noted that the attacks have continued unabated daily in the area.
“My people are being killed like goats daily. You heard that five or four people were killed. We cannot have the exact number of those that have been killed so far because some corpses are still in the bush yet to be discovered,” she said.
She urged the federal government to fulfill its primary purpose of securing the lives and property of every citizen, including Etsako East Local Government Area.
The council boss, who also lamented that the local government is on fire, threatened that the people would no longer fold their hands and watch members of their families being killed in a gruesome manner daily in their farmland.
Also speaking, the Traditional ruler of Okpekpe, HRH Peter A. Osigbemeh, called on the Federal and state governments to establish forest rangers to guard the forest by empowering local vigilante and hunters.
Osigbemeh urged the governments to employ rangers with the necessary security gadgets to enable them to take charge of their forest and defend themselves.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Police Command was yet to confirm the incident as the spokesperson of the command, SP Moses Yamu, was yet to respond to a text message sent to him via WhatsApp.
Source: DAILY POST