Suspected herdsmen have hacked to death, at a settlement in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, a 64-year-old man, Linus Ogehee.
Ogehee, a farmer from Ebonyi State, was found dead by his wife on Sunday with deep cuts and bullet wounds inflicted by herdsmen suspected to be Fulani.
The gruesome death triggered protests as angry villagers and youths, including school children, came out to express their outrage at the murder of the poor farmer.
They demanded an immediate investigation, and the arrest of the culprits responsible for the cold-blooded murder, which took place in Oleyo, in Igbatoro area.
The protesters, armed with placards and tree branches, called on the security agencies in Ondo State to save their villages from the incessant invasions by herdsmen.
SaharaReporters learned that the late Ogehee had been cultivating the farmland for over 20 years.
Roseline Ogehee, his wife, spoke to SaharaReporters in tears, stressing that life is now unbearable for the family and challenging the security agencies to avenge the death of her husband by ongoing after the killers.
"It was almost getting too dark and my husband [had] not returned from the farm, so I decided to trace him down there.
"As I stepped into the farm, I saw the lifeless body of my husband with cuts, bruises and bullet wounds on his corpse.
"I feared and immediately ran back to the village and also raised alarm to the villagers that they (Fulani herdsmen) have killed my husband," she recalled.
Nicodemus Oghee, younger brother to the deceased, similarly warned that the violent activities of the herdsmen needed to be halted by the security agencies, and called on the security agencies from the daily invasions of the villages in the area.
Also speaking to our correspondent, Taiwo Ogunleye, the village head of Ileyo, noted that the farmers in the area are now afraid of cultivating on their farmlands due to threats from the herdsmen who graze with their cattle.
"Many farmers can't even visit their farm again since the gruesome death of this man (Ogehee) and we now living in fear on our own land." he added.
Vincent Adoyi, President General of the Non-Indigenes Association, advised the Benue State government to partner with his counterparts in Ondo and Edo states to check the excesses of the herdsmen.
"If you enter into the farm now, Fulani herdsmen have destroyed nearly all our crops, mostly the maize. They also [leave] their cattle there [to graze] without fear of being challenged.
"We called on the Benue state Governor to have a collation with the Governors of Ondo, Enugu and Ebonyi States on how best to deal with the ungodly activities of these herdsmen," he said.
