Residents of Issele-Azagba, Aniocha North LGA, Delta State have lamented violent Fulani herdsmen incursion into the community.
According to them, the assailants have turned the community into a hotbed of kidnapping and other nefarious activities, forcing many residents to live in constant fear.
A resident and community youth leader, Mr. Ogebu Edozie, alleged that the herdsmen were armed with sophisticated weapons with which they terrorised residents.
He maintained that the community has always been hospitable and receptive to visitors irrespective of ethnoreligious leaning.
However, he said that the assailants have taken advantage of this hospitality to wreak havoc on the community.
Edozie said that freed kidnap victims and others that have encountered the assailants attested that they were Fulani herdsmen.
“Victims confirmed that these people are Fulani herdsmen from the language they speak and their physical appearance. We were told by those abducted that they were speaking Hausa.
“We are not trying to stereotype anybody.
“What we are saying is that we are under siege and from vicious attacks. The people doing this are our enemies. They come with sophisticated weapons,” he told Vanguard.
Addressing reporters, President-General of Issele-Azagba Development Union, Mr. Ben Illoh, who hailed increased police patrols in the community, said that residents were still not comfortable.
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He urged the Federal Government to come to their aid by deploying additional security personnel to assuage the fears of residents.
Illoh disclosed that the Fulani herdsmen attacks have almost paralysed socio-economic activities in the community.
“These attacks have become a very big problem for us. The police are here and there is a serious patrol going on but we want more support.
“For example, teachers are afraid to go and teach. It took serious efforts to get some of them back to school and the presence of vigilante operatives has given them the courage to go to school”.
The Herald had reported how another Delta community, Uwheru kingdom in Ughelli North LGA, had come under herdsmen attacks which led to the killing of eight persons.
A chief in the kingdom and Commissioner for Higher Education in the state, Prof Patrick Muoboghare, had claimed that the violent herdsmen receive protection from highly-placed persons, hence the inability to confront them.