Nigerians Panic As Violent Clash-Erupts Between Amotekun-Corps And Suspected-Herdsmen In Ondo State (Full Details)

Nigerians Panic As Violent Clash-Erupts Between Amotekun-Corps And Suspected-Herdsmen In Ondo State (Full Details)

Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as the Amotekun Corps, clashed violently with suspected herdsmen over the weekend in Sango, Igoba, Akure, the state capital.

The confrontation occurred as Amotekun operatives enforced the state’s anti-open grazing law. During the clash, some operatives were severely injured with machetes, causing a significant disruption in vehicular movement for several hours along the Ado-Akure road.

The operatives had responded to a distress call from local farmers, who reported that herders’ cattle were destroying their farmlands and crops. Upon arrival, the Amotekun officers were ambushed and attacked by the herdsmen.

The late governor of the state, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, signed the anti-open grazing bill into law on August 13, 2021, banning the open grazing of animals across the state.

Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Amotekun Corps, Jimoh Adeniken, praised the operatives for their courage and determination in managing the volatile situation despite the violent assault.

“During the operation, the corps surveillance team was led to the farms by the owners. On getting there, they met over one hundred and twenty cows ravaging the farms, and there was nobody with the cows. Determined to enforce the anti-open grazing law of the state, the operatives of the Amotekun corps moved the cows out of the farms, and while passing by the Sango Area, at Igoba, along Ado Road in Akure, groups of armed Fulani herdsmen attacked the officers with stones, bottles, cutlasses, and guns,” Adeniken said.

The situation escalated further when the assailants continued their assault, eventually invading the main road and severely injuring an Amotekun officer. The officers fired shots into the air to disperse the attackers and retreat to safety.

The violent clash highlights the ongoing tension and challenges in enforcing the anti-open grazing law, aimed at curbing the destructive impact of uncontrolled cattle grazing on local farmlands.