ABUDU – There was chaos at Abudu, administrative headquarters of Orhionmwon local government area of Edo State on Friday morning, following the killing of a young man on Thursday in the community by suspected herders.
The incident which unsettled the area forced most persons of Fulani and Hausa ethnic group to go into hiding, as they did not turn up for their usual Jumaat (Friday) prayers in the community, apparently due to fear of reprisal attacks.
An altercation had ensued between the suspected herders and some farmers inside a farming area where the herdsmen also have camps.
The altercation, caused by a missing dog that belongs to the farmers later degenerated into a physical fight between both parties, during which the suspected herder stabbed one of the farmers with knife in the chest.
He was rushed to a medical facility at Abudu were he was later confirmed dead.
“They (farmers) meet the Fulani people for road inside the bush wen dem wan go find their dog; na dem begin challenge dem (Fulani) to comot for road.
“Na the argument cause fight before one of them come stab the man for chest. One of them (farmers) still cut one of the Fulani people for hand before dem carry the person wen dem stab go hospital”, an eyewitness account narrated in pigin to this blogger
The news of the man’s death however did not go down well with some aggrieved youths who took to the street last Friday to protest the killing of the father of two.
It took the police at Abudu divisional headquarters and elders of the community hectic time to calm the youths before normalcy was restored to the area.
It was learnt the suspected killer is being detain at the state police headquarters in Benin city.
Plans are already on for a stakeholders meeting to forestall future crisis.
