Ogun residents raze Fulani settlement over abduction of woman by suspected herdsmen

A Fulani settlement at Iraye village in Sagamu, Ogun State, was razed on Monday by residents who protested incessant kidnappings in the area.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the residents’ action was a result of the abduction of a woman by suspected herdsmen on Sunday.

Locals told our correspondent that before the latest abduction, residents had been accusing some Fulani settlers of being the brains behind the abduction of their people in the area.

A police source, who preferred not to be named because he was not authorised to speak, said “one person was severely injured in the attack and many other Fulanis in the area scampered for safety.”

Kunle Ajayi, a resident who witnessed the attack, said the abducted woman is yet to regain her freedom.

“We are yet to see the woman and the Fulani guys have been fingered in various kidnappings in Ogun. We don’t want them again.”

The leader of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Ogun State, Abdulmumin Ibrahim, confirmed the attack to our correspondent, saying five houses were burnt in the settlement.

“It was true that they attacked our people’s settlement but nobody died. About five houses were burnt in the settlement and we have asked those affected to make a formal report at Sagamu Police station.”

Ogun police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, also confirmed the incident. He, however, said normalcy had been restored in the area.

“The residents heard that some Fulani herdsmen kidnapped someone in her farm in Iraye and they went there to set ablaze Fulani settlement.

“A Fulani man was injured and he is currently in the hospital but normalcy has been restored.”

He also confirmed that the abducted woman is yet to be rescued.

It would be recalled that a self-styled Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho, on February 1, rebuffed authorities and proceeded to Ogun State to purportedly evict herdsmen resident there. During that visit, he also vowed to dislodge herdsmen from the entire Yoruba land.

The Nigerian law, however, says no citizen has the right to eject others from wherever they wished to reside in the country.