Tension as Onitsha residents arrest herdsmen with guns

From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha

There was tension in Onitsha, Anambra State, following the arrest of two suspected herdsmen with wrapped guns and daggers at Upper Iweka.
It was gathered that the two young men came to Abuja luxurious-bus park to board vehicle going to the northern part of the country when they were apprehended by traders and park attendants. According to the video trending online, the guns were carefully wrapped with some daggers and other items before they were un-wrapped by the traders who rounded them up.
When contacted, Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Haruna Mohammed, said that the men were hunters who were rescued by the police at Upper Iweka on Sunday.
“They are not herders. They are hunters going to meet their colleagues and the incident took place on Sunday and police rescued them from the mob” Mohammed said.
Meanwhile, reactions continued to trail the discovery of arms with the suspected herders. A businessman, Chief Udoka Manya condemned the action of police who rescued the suspects, saying that they would have been lynched by mob.
“How can police say that they are hunters by merely seeing them without proper interrogation and investigation? We know the truth and the truth shall set us free. They are criminals and not hunters as claimed by the police. Police should properly investigate them and trace where they were coming and going” he said.
A trader at the Abuja Park, Mrs. Grace Onodo who witnessed the arrest of the young men said that their outlook confirmed that they were criminals.

She appealed to the police not to let them go without proper investigation to avoid any possible attack in the commercial city and wondered why some people should be allowed to carry gun openly while others should be restricted.