Herdsmen’s attacks: Community denied me entrance —Delta CP

By Emma Amaize, Festus Ahon, Perez Brisibe  &  Ochuko Akuopha

ASABA—Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zanna Ibrahim, has expressed concern over the uncooperative attitude of some communities in the state with the Police in the fight against rampaging herdsmen, saying that on one occasion, indigenes of Ossissa, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of the state, cut trees and barricaded the road with them to prevent him from accessing their community.

But the Ossissa community denied the allegation, saying that the youths only protested the leadership of the herdsmen coming to the community in view of what the people have suffered in the hands of the herdsmen.

In another development, the lawmaker representing Ethiope East constituency in Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Evance Ivwurie, has appealed to the United Nations High Commission and President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene in the incessant attacks by herdsmen on residents of Abraka and other communities in his constituency.

Ivwurie, in the letter addressed to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Switzerland, also copied the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission.

Lamenting the continuous killings in his constituency, the lawmaker appealed to President Buhari to urgently constitute a commission of inquiry to investigate the acts of herdsmen and bring them to book as well as unravelling their sponsors.

He said: “The security agencies have not visited the areas (Ovre r”Abraka/Eku/Igun) as of date to investigate the people’s claim of the sighting of a helicopter and the presence of about 2,000 heavily armed Fulani herdsmen who have taken over the entire area. So far, no meaningful step has been taken to bring an end to the insecurity in the area.”

Meanwhile, the state Police Commissioner, Ibrahim, on his being prevented from entering Ossissa, Ndokwa East council, said the Command, was on top of the situation at Ovre-Abraka and other parts of the state.

In an interview with Vanguard in Asaba, he said that the Police were not getting sufficient information from Deltans on the activities of herdsmen in their communities and pleaded with them to give Police all relevant information on criminals.

He said,  “The other day, the chairperson of the council and I wanted to move into the place (Ossissa), they (Ossissa people) brought tree trunks and branches and blocked the road. We could not get through to the place. So, you cannot come to a roundtable in that kind of situation.”

Denying the Police boss’ claim, Ossissa community leader, Chief Edward Olisenekwu, explainied: “All members of the entourage, including high ranking police officers above the Area Commander  were allowed into the community, but the youths started protesting saying that the meeting could not hold when they discovered that they (members of the entourage) were coming with the leadership of the herdsmen. That was why the meeting could not hold.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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