Herder k!lls 15-year-old farmer in Ondo community

A suspected herder have k!lled another farmer in Akoko – South East Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The victim, identified as Gbadamosi Joshua, 15, was brutally m8rdered on his farm at Ifira-Akoko on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.

The k!lling of the farmer made it the second of such a gruesome incident in the last two weeks in Akoko.

The spokesman for the state Police Command, SP Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, who confirmed the latest incident said the suspected killer identified as Adamu Farouk, who is also 15 years of age, has been arrested.

Sources said the victim from Odoro Quarters, Ifira-Akoko was allegedly hacked to d@ath on his farm at Ogudu Farm Settlement.

When his body was found on his farm, no one could figure out who his k!ller was, but there were suspicions that he was m@rdered by herdsmen.

Having been informed about the incident, a team of policemen from Isua Akoko went to the scene to recover the body and deposited it at the morgue at Ipe-Akoko General Hospital.

With the joint efforts of security agencies, the suspected killer of the victim was apprehended.

The PPRO disclosed that the state Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Peter Oladipo visited the Uba/ Eshimeri Akoko and Aduloju camp for an on-the-spot assessment over the clash between the people of the Uba community and the Fulanis living in the area.

The clash was a result of the k1lling of 36-year-old Sunday Ayeni, a farmer, on his farm in Uba Oka, Akoko South-West Local Government Area.

But his killer is yet to be arrested as the natives suspected that he was k1lled by herdsmen because they were forced to pay compensation to the victim when their cattle grazed on his farm.

However, traditional rulers and community leaders in the area have held emergency meetings to address the escalating incidence of k!llings in the local government area.

Reacting to the incidents, the Owa of Ogbagi Akoko, Oba Victor Adetona Olasehinde, who is also the chairman of the Akoko Divisional Council of Obas, condemned the killings, describing them as “callous, wicked and unacceptable.”

The monarch said criminal activities of the herdsmen are already driving away farmers from their farms, noting that the region’s status as a critical food basket has been jeopardized.

Oba Adetona, therefore, called for urgent intervention by the state government and all security agencies in the state.