Fulani herdsmen, who on Sunday seized hectares of farmlands at Ayete in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State, on Monday consolidated their hold on the farms despite the visits of the state Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, to the area on Sunday and Monday.
The Asawo of Ayete, Oba Emmanuel Okeniyi, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Monday, said the leader of the herdsmen, Iskilu Wakili, had invited his armed kinsmen to join him on the farms. He added that the herdsmen had started cutting down cocoa trees and burning cashew plantations,
Farmers in Kajola and Gbagban Idere village, under Ayete, who spoke to The PUNCH, confirmed what the traditional ruler said.
One of the farmers, Peter David, lamented that Wakili had taken over the farmlands. According to him, security agencies have not gone to the villages to dislodge the herdsmen, who forcefully took over people’s farmlands
Recall that David had on Sunday appealed to a Yoruba rights activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, to rescue them from a group of herdsmen led by Wakili.
They alleged that Wakili and other herdsmen were driving farmers away from their farms.
On Monday, the state governor continued his trouble-shooting visit to the Ibarapa area, which he started on Sunday.
Makinde visited some towns in the Ibarapa area of the state to feel the pulse of the people over the alleged killings, rape, and massive destruction of the farms of the indigenes by criminal Fulani herdsmen.
Residents of Ayete told one of our correspondents that neither the governor nor security agents visited the two villages, where Wakili and other herdsmen had seized control of farmlands
David, who had earlier spoken to The PUNCH told one of our correspondents on Monday that the governor did not visit the villages and Ayete.
