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George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
There was tension in Imo, on Sunday, as suspected Fulani herdsmen invaded Umuorii Uratta community in Owerri North Council.
The assailants killed a security guard, who is a native of Benue and injured another.
Daily Sun gathered that trouble started when the herdsmen numbering over 300, tried to force open the locked gate of Kenityz Plaza, off Road Safety Roundabout by Toronto Road, to graze their cattle.
The Benue indigenes was said to have politely informed the herdsmen that the owner of the compound had instructed them not to allow grazing in his premises.
The herdsmen reportedly left after a heated argument, regrouped and later attacked the Benue indigenes at the premises. In the process, the herdsmen killed a security guard leaving another person seriously injured.
Following the killing of their kinsmen by the herdsmen, the natives of Benue mobilised and combed the area in search of the Fulani herdsmen, who had abandoned their cattle and fled.
One of the Benue indigenes, who simply identified himself as John, said the herdsmen have become a terror as they kill anyone, who did not allow their cattle to graze even in their compound.
“They brazenly brandish their guns without any fear of arrest. They wanted to force the gate open, but when they were told that the owner of the compound had instructed that he does not want animals in his compound, they regrouped and attack the people, killing one of the occupants. They also injured another person.”
Meanwhile , the National President of Urrata Development Association, Chief Canice Maduji Jr, has called on security agencies to monitor the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the state, in order to avert a breach of the peace.
The community leader, who condemned the unprovoked attack on the indigenes of Benue State in the area disclosed that the community was taking a proactive measure to forestall further disturbance by the herdsmen.
