‘Herdsmen’ hack farmer to death in Ogun

An  Ogun state farmer identified as Adetona Owolabi has been hacked to death by suspected herdsmen.

The incident happened on Thursday afternoon in the deceased’s farmland located at Afon in Imeko-Afon local government area of the state.

Abimbola Oyeyemi, spokesman of the state police command, confirmed the incident to TheCable on Friday.

He said two suspects had been arrested regarding the incident.

“It was during the daytime. The man was on his farm when he saw the cattle invading it,” he told TheCable over the phone.

“The two suspects have been arrested and are currently helping us with investigations.”

TheCable gathered that the deceased was working on the farm when some cattle found there and started eating his crops.

The farmer, in return, was said to have rushed to disperse the cattle and had also confronted the herdsmen.

The herdsmen, however, did not take the situation lightly, as they reportedly attacked the man with machetes, inflicting him with injuries, after which he bled to death.

The herdsmen, whose number could not be confirmed, were said to have immediately fled the scene.

Oyeyemi, however, declined to confirm if the arrested suspects were herdsmen.

When asked to confirm the identities of the suspects, the police spokesman said: “We do not want to attach the crime to a particular tribe…the commissioner of police have ordered that the suspects be transferred to the homicide section.

“He has also directed the area commander to relocate to make sure that there is no breakdown of law and order in the area.

“So the police is making sure there is no reprisal attacks. Patrol has also been intensified and normalcy has returned to the area.”

This is the third herdsmen-related death to have occurred in the south-west in three days. Earlier in the week, a herdsman and a pregnant woman were killed in Ekiti state.