Enugu Attacks: Police Abandoned Us During Herdsmen Invasion – Villagers

SAN FRANCISCO, April 27 (THEWILL) – The people of Ukpabi Nimbo, a community in the Uzo-Uwani area of Enugu State, which was attacked by Fulani herdsmen on Monday, has disclosed that they were abandoned even after they alerted security agencies to the plan to attack them.

The villagers stated this on Tuesday when the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, visited the community, accompanied by the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division, Enugu, Major General Attahiru Ibrahim, and the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Nwodibo Ekechukwu.

A community leader, Dr. George Ajogu, who spoke on behalf of the people of Ukpabi Nimbo at the village square, blamed security agencies for failing to act on “credible” information they provided before the attack, adding that the villagers were not taken unawares by the invasion.

Ajogu, who disclosed that more corpses were being uncovered in the bush after more than 20 dead bodies were recovered on Monday, stressed that the attack would have been prevented if the security agencies acted on information made available to them by the villagers.

In an emotion-laden voice, the community leader stated, “Had it been that security agencies responded appropriately, this would not have happened.

“They (Fulani herdsmen) did not take us unawares, we knew they were coming.

“We are not happy; we have been crying for more than two weeks that our community is under threat. Now, over 20 people are dead.

“We are still discovering corpses; we discovered one corpse this morning and so many corpses are still in the bush.

“We have been shouting and crying but the security agencies did not come to our aid; only one police patrol van comes to this community.

“Because we lack security, the Fulani come here and tell us the land is theirs. They tell the farmers to kneel down and they rape the women in front of their husbands.”

Ajogu noted that due to the location of the village on the border between Enugu and Kogi states, residents of Ukpani Nimbo community were always under attacks from herdsmen, whom he said are bent on turning the villagers' farmlands into grazing fields for their cattle.

While urging the federal and state governments to come to the assistance of the community, the spokesman said security should be beefed up in the village to forestall future attacks, pleading that the security agents, who were deployed in the village to restore normalcy after Monday's attacks, should remain in the community.

“Please don't leave, if you leave now, they will return to attack us again.

“They (herdsmen) have been killing and raping our people for some time now,” the community leader stated.