— Villagers narrate experiences
— Call for local vigilantee
By Nwogha Ndubuisi, Abakaliki
The pandemonium that struck Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on Monday night, 29th March,2021 has left not fewer than twenty persons dead with many others inflicted with bullet wound.
Our reporter who visited the scene of the incident reports that some corpse was said to still be missing,as one of the victims who is an Anambarian was discovered inside Obegu Egedegege bush on Wednesday morning.
Speaking with Mr chibuike Oluinya, who lost one of his brother to the unholy attack, narrated that the community was not yet safe as the herders can be traced to had disappeared to an unknown destination.
According to Mr. Oluinya, the attack came around 7:00PM on Monday when some suspected herders were seen in the village farm path.
He said,report was brought of the strange men numbering about four seen in the bush but on noticing that they are not forest guards as had envisaged by the villagers,the sophisticated arm carrying men opened fire on the indigenes.
Oluinya narrated that the villagers scampered for safety as his family members spent their night in the bush.
“I’m a welder and resident of Obeagu, 32, years and it was fulani herdsmen who invaded our villages, 7 was killed in Obeagu, nkaleha is 4,Nhamufu is 3, Ameza is 4, Umuhali is one, nkanagu is one including one imo man who was also murdered in cold blood.
“Where they emerged from is what nobody could explain but we suspected they invaded from the bush and we are angry over the situation.
“Though,our governor was here yesterday evening to talk to our people but, lo and behold, the community is on serious fear of possible reoccurrence.
On another account, sixty years old Mrs.Grace Osara, a resident of Obeagu Egedegege told us that she was preparing her night food when she heard sporadic bullet sound from all corners of the village.
She said, when it became obvious that the stray bullets are flying in every part of the area, the whole villagers take to the bush as the last hope.
She explained that the family walk through the bush from Obeagu to Nhamufu which is a far kilometres by foot and that took them from 7pm till 12:00 o’clock in the morning.
The over sixty years old Osara, bemoaned her ugly experience and blamed the abscence of local vigilantee as the cause of their inability to identify the invasion of foreign enemies.
She appealed government to urgently constitute local vigilantee as to patrol the area as there may be possible renew attack.
On a similar account, another resident of the area, Mr Ekene Egbuaba told us that he suspected that the attackers are herders who were sacked out of the community bush as recently ordered by the state government.
He admonished the government of Ebonyi State to urgently put up team of local vigilantee among forest guards to man the threatening security challenge facing the state.
Egbuaba further advised the south east regional governor’s forum Chairman, Engr David Umahi to invite miyetti Allah leaders in the region for a round table discussion on possible way out to assuage the ugly incident.
He appealed to the council Chairman to fasten his actions as to safe lives of the innocent villagers who currently panic on possible resurface.
