Fulani Herdsman Who Cut Off My Hand Still Moves Freely, Laments Ondo Widow

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A rice farmer in Ondo State, Amaka Okafor, has shared her horrifying experience with a killer herdsman, who cut off her hand when she tried to prevent his cows from grazing her crops.

Amaka who was recently attacked in the Ayede Ogbese community in the Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, told Punch that the culprit is a free man yet to be arrested by the police while she is still being hospitalised.

According to her, she had gone to her rice farm on a fateful day and when she sighted Fulani herdsmen coming into her farm, she warned them to desist from destroying her crops.

She said the other herders, however, complied but the culprit, a 20-year-old herder insisted. She said upon sighting him with his cows inside her farm, she challenged him as to why he would bring his cows to her farm to destroy all that was planted.

She said the herder, whose name she doesn't know, got infuriated when she told him his nemesis would catch up with him in future and that God would judge him.

“He became angry and said; ‘What did you say?’ He said I was mad and he took out his cutlass to attack me, but I ran and he started chasing me and I began to shout. As I was running, l fell to the ground. He caught up with me and raised the cutlass to cut my neck but I blocked it with my hand. My wrist was almost cut off. I have a very deep cut on my wrist and my head."

“When he saw one of my workers running towards the direction, he commanded the cows and all of them ran away. It was my worker who helped me to tie the wrist with my cloth and raised the alarm for the other workers to come and assist me to the hospital. They washed my face with water because the blood oozing was so much."

"I later called the Divisional Crime Officer of the community to inform him of the development. When I got to the hospital, the doctor did his best for me because the vein had been cut.”

Journal Reporters gathered that since Amaka reported the incident to the police, nothing has been done up till now as the culprit has yet to be arrested.

She said the leader of the Fulani in the state was informed and promised to confirm the situation, which he did but nothing had been done.

“The policemen in the community know the man and his father very well, but they’ve not invited or arrested them. I know the man very well but don’t know his name. I know him very well, the man is in his 20s. He and his family members live in this community.”

When asked if she ever had any altercation with any of the Fulani herdsmen in times past, Amaka said they were always friendly with her but claimed that  the family of the particular man, who attacked her are the problem in the community adding that they don’t play or form relationships with anyone, and they are the ones who always attack people in the community.

Amaka a farmer with over seven hectares of land, said she invests about N1.5 million and N2 million in her business annually through loans and pays back after selling what was harvested.

She complained of how she is now indebted with no means of paying back despite having her mother and a child dependent on her.

She called for the intervention of the Nigerian government in the community as she claimed there are over 3,000,000 cows in the community, owned by herders who maim and kill innocent residents. 

“I want serious attention from the government on this matter, especially in Ogbese. The Fulani attacks on us are too many. They will attack, rape and destroy our things. A few months ago, they raped one woman in this community and up till now, no one has been arrested."

"The Fulani are just too many here in Ogbese with over three million cows. I also want to appeal to the government to assist me. I’m a widow with a child and an aged mother, whom I’m taking care of. If you have an encounter with the Fulani, they will still come after the person, many people have cases with them."

"I need protection and financial assistance because as it is now, I have loans to repay. The herdsmen have destroyed my farm, how will I repay the loans?  Now, I’m fed up. I think it’s time I quit. I want to leave Ondo State entirely. The debt will be too much for me to bear,” she said.

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