Bandits invade Ondo communities, kill over 20 farmers

Gunmen suspected to be armed herders have killed over 20 farmers in Ondo State after invading no fewer than four communities in the Akure North Local Council Area of the state.

With the attack occurring at midnight over the weekend, sources in the affected communities, identified as Aba Pastor, Aba Sunday, Ademekun Camp, and Aba Alajido Camp within Ala Elefosan, were sacked by the bandits.

One of the community sources, who craved anonymity, said 14 dead bodies had been recovered from one of the communities while the search party continued searching for other missing residents.

Meanwhile, a police source revealed that policemen were deployed in the area on Sunday, with some bodies retrieved, while the search was still ongoing as of press time.

He said, “Our men were immediately deployed in the area when the report got to the command on Saturday. As I’m speaking with you, about 14 dead bodies have been recovered in the villages.”

However, a farmer in one of the communities, who gave his name as Ezekiel, disclosed that more than 40 persons were killed during the attack, with residents fleeing into the bush amid heavy gunfire from the bandits.

With the communities already deserted, Ezekiel revealed that the attack had started last week, while that of the weekend was the most deadly, particularly since they operated for hours unhindered.

He said, “They attacked our communities on Friday night when everyone was asleep. They opened fire on everyone in sight. So many ran to the bush for safety, while some unlucky ones were killed in the villages. I am sure that over 40 people have been killed, while many have sustained injuries.

“On Sunday, the security men came around and recovered some of the corpses. Many are still not found; if they search further, they will still find more dead bodies in the bush.”

Lamenting over the development on Monday, the Regent of Ademekun Community, Princess Adelowo Adekemisola, said, “Fourteen people were killed last weekend by the herdsmen who infiltrated my community and started shooting sporadically. The community has been battling the herdsmen problem for the past six years.”

Adekemisola, who spoke at a town hall meeting with cocoa farmers on Monday at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Adegbemile in Akure, said, “The herdsmen came through the Edo-Ondo boundary to attack our community, but they were rescued by Amotekun during the Akeredolu administration. The perpetrators were arrested and paraded, and peace returned to the community during that time.”

The regent appealed to the state government and the security agencies in the state to come to the rescue of the communities.

While confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, CSP Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, stated that operatives have been mobilized to restore normalcy in the communities.

She said, “The matter was reported on Saturday that the Aba Pastor community was attacked; immediately, the command swung into action to ensure normalcy is restored and arrest the perpetrators.”