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Herdsmen took turns to rape me in my farm

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A 72-year-old grandmother, Victoria Akinseye, was in tears as she displayed the torn under wears she wore the day suspected herdsmen took turns to rape her on her farm in Ore, Odigbo council area of Ondo State.

Victoria said the herdsmen had done the unthinkable and would reap the fruit of their wickedness to her. Actually two women were raped same day at different farms and times in the agrarian community by suspected herdsmen. The other victim, Ebun Olarewaju, is much younger.

Early this month, a farmer, identified as Orimisan Omowole, was also hacked to death by suspected herdsmen in the town. Narrating her ordeal, Akinseye said, “I was working on my farm when two men attacked me from behind, held my neck such that I couldn’t ask for help.

They tore my clothes and took turns to rape me.” According to her, a fellow farmer who was on his way to his farm later that day saw her where the herdsmen had abandoned her after the rape and took her home. She said her life had not remained the same since after the rape. ‘“When we reported the incident to our monarch, we were told I must do a sacrifice, to prevent any bad occurrence in my family.

I even had to beg for money to buy items for the ritual. My life is in ruins”. The septuagenarian farmer said she had however cursed those who raped her for their wickedness to “an old woman who could have been of the same age with their mothers.” Disturbed by the latest development, youths and farmers across the 18 council areas of the state marched through the streets of Akure, the state capital, protesting the menace of herdsmen. For hours, the protesters disrupted business and commercial activities.

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The protesters, acting under the auspices of Ondo State Youth Coalition, OSYC, threatened “to take the law into their hands if the state government failed to address the issue immediately”. They described herdsmen’s activities as dangerous and a signal of imminent crisis in Ondo State. Their spokesperson, Olusola Adekanmbi, said herdsmen had “not only raped and destroyed farms in the state, they had also resorted to killing, terrorising and kidnapping farmers on their farmlands”.

He went on: “One of the farmers, Orimisan Omowole, was murdered in his farm in Odigbo local government area of the state. “After killing him, they took out his heart and placed it on his chest “We are not against cattle rearing or saying cattle rearing should be banned but we want free grazing of cattle in our farms at our expense with wanton destruction of our crops and means of livelihood to be stopped forthwith. “Cattle-rearing is a legitimate and profitable business. “But it is not acceptable for cattle-rearers to do their business at our expense and even at the expense of our lives and security.

“We believe the herdsmen have refused to do what civilised herdsmen do worldwide by confining their cattle to ranches and similar enclosure because to do so would mean their having to bear the cost of feeding their cattle”. The protesters pleaded with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and the state House of Assembly to enact a law to stop incessant attacks by herdsmen in order to protect farmers and their farms and to ensure security of lives.

“The herdsmen are trying to make farming impossible for our people who are now afraid to go to their farms”, the OSYC leader said. “The Fulani herdsmen have become terrorists who attack, kill, maim and rape our women and even burn their farms. “They are taking advantage of our civilised way of life for cowardice but if we are pushed beyond our tolerant threshold, we can be militant as the other groups and they should take notice that terror breeds terror.” Meanwhile, the state government is said to be proposing an anti – open grazing bill to curtail herdsmen’s attacks in Ondo. Sources close to government said cases of destruction of farmlands, incessant attacks and killing of farmers and rape of women in the last three weeks was worrisome.

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Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Agriculture, Mr. Akin Olotu, said the menace of herdsmen was getting out of hand, saying no fewer than four farmers were killed in the last three weeks by suspected herdsmen. Apart from this, Olotu said about ten hectares of cassava farmland was destroyed by suspected herdsmen and their cattle in Owo while some farmers were injured during the attack. He said the activities of herdsmen were not limited to a particular area in the state but across the state.

“The state government is worried about this development. Though herdsmen are doing their business, they have been using their business to destroy other businesses. “The destruction of farmlands has been a source of concern to farmers in the state, while those who are just embracing farming, as a source of livelihood, have been discouraged. “Farmers have lost a lot of money to these destructions after obtaining loans from bank to finance farm projects. Farm produce cannot be stored in the barn any longer”.

According to him, ponds and apiary worth millions of Naira were destroyed by cattle and herdsmen in a particular location in the state, saying the fishes were harvested while the honey comb was stolen by the invading herdsmen. He hinted that the state government was proposing anti-open grazing bill to stem down the menace of herdsmen while herdsmen operating in the state and their cows would be registered with codes to identify them.

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Olotu, who advocated for the modern method of rearing cattle in the country, called on security agencies and stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the state. Ondo State Police Command confirmed the arrest of some suspects in connection with the killing of the farmer in Ore.

Its image maker Femi Joseph said the command was not folding its hands but working to ensure that the people of the state sleep with their two eyes closed. Joseph promised hard times for criminals in Ondo, advising them to either repent from their evil ways or relocate from the state.

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Crime & Court

EFCC Nabs Five for Illegal Solid Mineral Transportation Without Licenses

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Operatives from the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have apprehended five individuals for their involvement in the possession and conveyance of three truckloads of various solid minerals without the necessary licenses.

In a statement released on Tuesday, EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, identified the suspects as Dauda Suleiman, Quadri Oladimeji, Abubakar Alhassan, Anas Sanusi, and Auwal Garba. Among them, Suleiman, Alhassan, and Sanusi were operating as truck drivers, while Oladimeji and Garba served as truck boys.

The arrests, carried out along Maraba road in Ilorin, Kwara state, and Ogbomosho, Oyo state, between March 21 and 22, 2024, were made possible through credible intelligence and surveillance efforts.

The suspects were caught transporting solid minerals, suspected to include marble stone, white powder, lithium, and lepidolite, to Shagamu and Alakija in Ogun and Lagos States for commercial purposes, despite lacking the required licenses. They claim to have been hired for the task.

The trucks seized from the suspects were identified as carrying the registration numbers JJJ 206 YG (Lagos), T24413 LA (Lagos), and KNT 635 XP (Niger), respectively.

This incident marks another crackdown by the EFCC on individuals engaged in illegal mining activities within the country.

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Previously, on February 5, the agency arrested 41 individuals suspected of illegal mining in Ilorin and impounded 12 truckloads of assorted minerals mined without licenses. With this recent arrest, the total number of individuals apprehended stands at 46, with 15 vehicles seized in the last month for similar offenses.

According to the statement, the suspects will face prosecution in court once investigations are concluded.

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Crime & Court

NDLEA Seizes Over 44,948.1kg of Illicit Drugs In Lagos, Edo, Ondo

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In a crackdown on drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed the seizure of a staggering 44,948.1 kilograms of illicit drugs across Lagos, Edo, and Ondo states.

Alongside the confiscations, eight suspects were apprehended during the operations, revealed Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, on Sunday.

The anti-narcotics agency disclosed that it also impounded 11 vehicles owned by drug cartels as part of the enforcement efforts.

Among those arrested were five individuals, including 67-year-old Sunday Otulugbu, Agbayeogor Joshua (39), Kelvin Ofuasia (45), Williams Peter (37), and Kamaru Onimisi (44).

According to Babafemi, a substantial amount of cannabis, totaling 7,687.8 kilograms, was destroyed in a warehouse located in the Ala forest of Akure, Ondo State, with an additional 670 kilograms evacuated on Saturday, March 23.

In separate operations, significant quantities of cannabis were eradicated in the Uzebba/Avbiosi forest, leading to the arrest of Kabiru Idris (36), Alaba Jimoh (40), and Lekan Asobere (35).

Similarly, in the Okpuje forest of Owan West LGA, NDLEA operatives, with military support, razed 5,000 kilograms of the illicit substance, further intensifying the crackdown.

The agency’s efforts extended to Edo State, where a substantial 14,310.8625 kilograms of psychoactive substances were destroyed on farms spanning 5.7 hectares in the Ohosu/Ugbogui forest of Ovia South West Local Government Area on Tuesday, March 19.

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Highlighting a well-coordinated operation in Lagos State on Wednesday, the NDLEA seized 10,534 kilograms (10.534 tonnes) of Ghanaian Loud, a strain of cannabis, in the Ajah area. Additionally, 11 vehicles linked to the drug cartel were confiscated during the operation.

The recovered vehicles include an Iveco truck marked KRD 522 YE, Toyota Sienna vehicles marked AAA 338 GL, AAA 308 EP, and LSD 744 GP, a Nissan bus marked EKY 846 YG, a Mercedes bus marked EPE 743 XT, among others.

 

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Crime & Court

Nasarawa: Police Bust Suspected Internet Fraudsters’ Hideout, Arrest 10

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The Nasarawa State Police Command said it has busted a hideout belonging to suspected internet fraudsters.

DSP Ramhan Nansel, the Public Relations Officer, shared in a press release that the arrest of 10 suspects took place during a raid conducted by police operatives from the Angwan Lambu Division.

The cybercriminals’ hideout, located in the Government Reserved Area, Keffi, was targeted following extensive police efforts, resulting in the apprehension of 10 individuals involved in internet fraud, commonly known as Yahoo Plus.

Among the items seized were two laptops, 10 sophisticated mobile phones of different brands, three WIFI routers, criminal charms, black soap, and illegal substances such as Loud weed and dried leaves suspected to be marijuana.

The suspects admitted their involvement in internet fraud, as outlined in the press release. The authorities plan to charge them to court for prosecution once the investigation is concluded.

Commending the officers for their exemplary work, Commissioner of Police Umar Shehu Nadada urged them to sustain efforts in raiding criminal hideouts.

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