He lamented the negative roles played by police, saying; "The police are not helping matters. Whenever we have issues, Yoruba people are not sure of getting justice in the state."
The Asao of Ayete, Oba Emmanuel Okeniyi Borisabunmi, on Thursday said his people had endured enough intimidation and harassment in the hands of Fulani people in his community.
He debunked claims that monarchs in the region have been selling land to Fulani people, saying they have been coming in through forests.
The monarch told SaharaReporters that the Fulani herdsmen have been raping women, destroying farms, and intimidating, kidnapping and killing people in his community and the whole of Ibarapaland.
He urged the government to come to their aid before the matter would get out of hand.
Challenging the arrested Fulani settlers to produce any Yoruba man behind the challenges facing the people, the monarch said there have been thousands of unreported cases of intimidation by Fulani people in Ibarapaland.
He lamented the negative roles played by police, saying; "The police are not helping matters. Whenever we have issues, Yoruba people are not sure of getting justice in the state."
He said, "Now we buy food from them. Their cattle never destroy their farms but usually destroy our own. The only thing we know how to do is farming but now we cannot feed ourselves again. We normally plant cassava and maize but now, we cannot do it again.
"The most annoying thing is the way they are kidnapping our people. My younger brother, Ajani, was kidnapped. It happened three years ago and we still haven’t seen him. They also kidnapped Yekini; we have yet to see him two years later. They have also kidnapped some of our rich men. They kidnap them and collect money from them.
“Our people are alleging that we gave them our land, but that is not true. Nobody gave land to the Fulani people. They settle wherever they feel is good for them. All the people arrested for these criminal acts have been Fulani. We challenge them to bring out any Yoruba among them if there is any. As we speak, cows have destroyed all the farms of our people.
"We cannot sleep with our two eyes closed. They normally come into the town through the forests; nobody gives land to them. And once they arrive, they will never visit the traditional leader in the community to inform them of their arrival. What they claim is that all lands belong to God and not individuals. But some people are in charge of those lands; they don't want to hear that. What we demand from them is peace. If you are deprived of peace, then you are dead. That is the reason why we are calling on the government to come to our rescue before it boomerangs."
Lately, the South-West has been experiencing many cases of kidnapping and killing which have been blamed on Fulani herdsmen.