Herdsmen Attacks: Group Urges Rivers to Protect Citizens

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Following the continuous invasion of farms, killings, rape, abduction and abuses of rights of farmers by suspected herdsmen in some communities in Rivers State, a group, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC), has urged the state government to enforce the Anti-Open Grazing laws to end the menace.

The group decried that despite the passage and assent to anti-open grazing laws, farmers still lament over the incessant attacks by the herdsmen.

The state Governor, Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, had on August 19, 2021, assented to the Open Rearing and Grazing (Prohibition) Law No. 5 of 2021, among others.

Some farmers in the state, especially those from Lueken community in the Ogoni area, where there has been reported cases of herdsmen attacks, had thanked the governor, expressing their support for the smooth implementation of the law, an appreciation for saving them from herdsmen attack.

However, speaking with THISDAY yesterday, the Executive Director of YEAC, Fyneface Dumnamene, revealed that six days after assenting to the Anti-Open Grazing law, herdsmen allegedly invaded farms in Eleme Local Government Area, attacking farmers, shooting sporadically, creating fear, and abducting one of the women said to have been hired to work in a cassava farm.

According to Dumnamene, who stated that the volunteer wing of YEAC alerted on the attack, said the incident took place in Agbon-Chia Farms in Eleme on August 25.

He said: “In the past, precisely on March 15, 2021, our volunteers had also reported similar incident of herdsmen invading and attacking farmers at the Agbon-Chia Farms, raping women and abusing their rights. Advocacy Centre had also reported and circulated the information to the public in a statement titled: ‘Before We Are Killed Again’ by Gbo Kabaari, an Ogoni Elders’ Forum on June 29, 2021 and signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Chief Monday Abueh and Dr. Desmond Mbete respectively.

“On this latest development, a member of Agbon-Chia community (name withheld) confirmed the incident to Advocacy Centre. He narrated how the herdsmen invaded the community farms, attacked farmers, shooting with different riffles, raping women, and kidnapped a lady who was hired for job.

“It is against these brief backgrounds that the Advocacy Centre calls on the Rivers State governor to deploy the state resources to ensure the implementation of extant laws on this and related issues to protect and provide security for the citizens in the state to avoid re-occurrence.”

Dumnamene further called on the state Police Command to investigate the matter, arrest the perpetrators, and determine the whereabouts of the woman alleged to have been kidnapped by the herdsmen during last Wednesday invasion.