Crime & Court
Herdsmen took turns to rape me in my farm
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.
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.
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.
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.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has uncovered and dismantled a large methamphetamine production facility concealed inside a forest in Oyo State, arresting a suspected Mexican drug expert and four Nigerians in what officials described as a major breakthrough against an international drug trafficking syndicate.
The industrial-scale laboratory was discovered at Tapa Village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area during an operation conducted by NDLEA operatives on June 17.
Among those arrested was a 56-year-old Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly recruited to provide technical expertise for the large-scale production of methamphetamine.
Four Nigerians identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, Olatunji Yusuf, Bankole Akeem Owolabi and Ganiu Monsiu were also apprehended during the raid.
The Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the clandestine facility was equipped with substantial quantities of precursor chemicals and industrial processing equipment used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
According to the agency, forensic analyses conducted at the site confirmed the presence of methamphetamine, while all recovered substances, chemicals and equipment had been secured as exhibits for further investigation and prosecution.
The discovery came barely four weeks after NDLEA operatives dismantled another large methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forest in neighbouring Ogun State, heightening concerns over attempts by drug cartels to turn the South-West into a hub for synthetic drug production.
Marwa said the latest operation underscored the agency’s determination to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks operating within Nigeria.
He warned both local and foreign drug syndicates against viewing the country as a safe destination for illicit drug activities.
“Let the message go out clearly to all drug cartels, domestic and international, that Nigeria is not, and will never be, a safe haven for your illicit trade,” Marwa said.
“We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests, and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death.
They thought hiding in dense forests would shield them from the long arm of the law. They were wrong.”
The NDLEA described the operation as another significant blow against organised drug trafficking networks and commended the officers involved in the raid for their professionalism, resilience and courage.
Operatives of the Gombe State Police Command have recovered a Toyota Highlander reported stolen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, five years ago.
The vehicle was recovered on June 8, 2026, during a routine verification exercise conducted by detectives attached to the State Intelligence Department in collaboration with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps at the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service vehicle licensing office.
The spokesperson for the command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, saying the vehicle was flagged as suspicious during the process of uploading and verifying vehicle records.
According to him, the joint team identified the Toyota Highlander bearing registration number FH823PHC and subjected it to further scrutiny, which revealed that it had been declared stolen on September 17, 2021.
Preliminary findings showed that the vehicle belonged to one Cecilia A. Duru of Akwaka Lane, Rumuodumaya, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Abdullahi said investigators subsequently uncovered a transnational movement of the vehicle, establishing that it was taken to the Niger Republic in 2023 before returning to Nigeria through Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State on October 17, 2025.
He added that the sport utility vehicle was later sold in Kaduna State and eventually brought to Gombe for re-registration, where it was detected and recovered by security operatives.
“Investigation is ongoing, as efforts are being intensified to identify and apprehend those involved,” the police spokesperson stated.
He urged members of the public to exercise caution when purchasing vehicles, advising intending buyers to verify ownership documents and authenticate vehicle records through the appropriate authorities before concluding any transaction.
The command reaffirmed its commitment to combating vehicle theft and other trans-border crimes, assuring residents that efforts were underway to arrest all those linked to the theft and illegal trafficking of the recovered vehicle.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced two women linked to a slain suspected terrorist kingpin, Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo, to a total of 40 years imprisonment for offences bordering on terrorism and aiding criminal activities.
The convicted women — Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi — who are said to be the mother and sister of the late bandit leader, were handed the sentence on Wednesday by Justice Hauwa Yilwa after they pleaded guilty to parts of a five-count terrorism charge filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Battujo, described by security operatives as a notorious bandit kingpin, was earlier eliminated by security forces on June 10, 2026, during an operation in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
During proceedings, the court heard that the defendants were implicated in aiding and abetting the activities of the deceased, including passing information through telephone communications and concealing aspects of his criminal operations.
According to the prosecution, both women admitted guilt to count two of the charge, which bordered on supporting and facilitating the activities of a known bandit leader in violation of Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Halima Abdullahi was further convicted on count four, which involved concealing information regarding illegal firearms allegedly acquired by her brother after she reportedly visited his forest hideout.
Safiya Salihu, on her part, also pleaded guilty to count five, which accused her of withholding information about terrorist activities linked to her son.
Although the charges also included allegations of receiving ₦490,300 suspected to be proceeds of terrorism and sponsorship of pilgrimage using illicit funds, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, urged the court to discount those counts while proceeding with conviction on others.
Justice Yilwa, in her judgment, imposed 20 years imprisonment on each of the counts, but ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, effectively making the total jail term 40 years for each convict.
The court further directed that after serving their jail terms, the convicts should undergo rehabilitation, underscoring the judiciary’s position on balancing punishment with reintegration.
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