Two residents of Okpekpe community in the Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo, Batemue Philip Ebo and Christopher Bello, were reportedly killed on Monday by suspected herders.
The incident is said to have thrown the community into mourning as the deceased were on their farms when they met their untimely death.
The death of the two farmers was confirmed by both the community’s royal father, Onwuweko of Okpekpe, His Royal Highness Peter Osigbemeh and the embattled chairman of the LGA, Benedicta Atoh.
The royal father, who spoke in a telephone interview with TheNigerian Metro on Monday, said policemen were already on the ground to maintain peace in the community.
He described the situation as bad, urging his people to remain calm as the police would fish the killers of the duo.
He said, “It is true that herders killed two of our kinsmen when they went to their farms. The police are in the community to find out what happened and fish out the killers.
“I will urge our people to remain calm as the police are set to unravel the matter.”
Atoh urged the state government to take immediate action to stop the killing as the entire community might be wiped out.
In a statement issued through her Chief Press Secretary, Benjamin Atu, Atoh condemned the killings and frowned on the Federal Government’s ambivalent stance amid the herdsmen’s attacks which she said was leading to loss of lives.
She said, “It is time to tackle this high-level insecurity by deploying the military in parts of the bush and farm areas to give the farmers an immediate sense of safety in their farmlands.
“This is a Black Monday in the Okpekpe community over the killing of the two farmers.
The government should act now.
“We urge the governor of the state (Monday Okpebholo) to deploy security across the community and activate local vigilantes, which has consistently been used to secure the council area.”
When contacted, the Edo State Police Command spokesperson, Moses Yamu, said he would get back to TheNigerian Metro but had yet to do so as of the time of filing the report.
