The youths were protesting
the arrest and detention of some residents, including a retired police officer
identified as Peter Adama.
There was chaos on
Wednesday in Umomi community in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State
when some policemen attached to the Ugwolawo division opened fire on a crowd of
protesting youths.
Two of the youths,
identified as Okaye Omodi and Zekeri Mohammed, were shot dead by the officers,
who immediately fled to their station.
Punch correspondent
gathered that Adama and others were arrested around 11pm on Tuesday by some
officers attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
A resident, Jeremiah Idege,
said the operatives swooped on the community after some Fulani herdsmen
reported that their cows had been killed by some residents. Idege claimed that
the allegation was false, saying that the herdsmen had actually invaded and
destroyed the community’s farmland.
He said. “We have issues
with the Fulani herdsmen and that has been on for as long as 15 years. They
have been destroying our farmland with reckless abandon. As I speak with you,
our community is wrecked.
“The little we have left
was ravaged again by their cows recently and we reported the matter at the
Ugwolawo Police Division. We were given four policemen to follow us to assess
the level of damage done to our crops.
“Later, the police said we
should come to a roundtable meeting with the herdsmen so they could resolve the
case; but we refused. We just asked them to leave in peace. If we collect any
money from them, they will say they have bought the lands and they will
completely take over what we have left.”
A few days after the
mediation failed, the herdsmen reported that some cows had been killed by the
residents.
Punch correspondent was
told that some of the community leaders followed the herdsmen round to see the
alleged dead cows, but found none. Another resident of the community, Sani Emmanuel,
said the herdsmen made the allegation because they were asked to leave the
village.
Emmanuel said on Monday,
the Fulani leaders reported again at the police station that another set of
cows had been killed.
He said, “On Tuesday,
around 11pm, a group of policemen entered our village and started breaking
doors and ransacking our homes. They arrested a lot of people, including Adama,
who is retired police officer.”
Emmnauel said the arrest
did not go down well with the community youths, who trooped out on Wednesday to
protest the continued destruction of their farmland without any help from the
security agents.
Punch Metro was told that
the youths blocked the roads and sang solidarity songs. A witness, who did not
want his name in print, said the protest was peaceful.
He said, “The protest,
which started around 10am, was peaceful and it was within our village.
Suddenly, armed policemen from the Ugwolawo division drove in and shot live
bullets into the crowd. We all fled without knowing what had happened. The
policemen had left before we knew they had killed two people.”
The corpses were said to
have been abandoned on the road until the Ata of Igala, Mr. Michael Idakwo,
reportedly arrived at the scene and ordered that the victims’ families should
take them away for burial.
The Police Public Relations
Officer, Kogi State Command, William Aya, confirmed the incident, adding that
the state Commissioner of Police had gone to visit the scene.
He said, “I don’t have all
the details of what transpired now. But the state Commissioner of Police has
gone to see what actually transpired and assuage the residents. I will get back
when I finally get the details.”
Punch
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