Tension As Herdsmen Plot Invasion Of Enugu Community

*Enugu Fulani community leader intervenes

By Chinenyeh Ozor

Confusion has enveloped Ukpabi Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Enugu State, following an alleged attempt by Fulani herdsmen to invade the community and displace residents for cattle-grazing.

About 500 Fulani herdsmen were allegedly assembling at Ukpabi Nimbo community in the area to launch an attack.

It was gathered that the herdsmen at Adani had, weekend, imported these 500 others from Nasarawa State to help them invade the community on grounds that some of their cattle were missing.

However, stakeholders from the local government met, weekend, to find solutions to the incessant attacks by herdsmen on communities in the local government, leading to the kidnap of over 15 persons and raping of several women from the area along the Nsukka-Adani-Umulokpa road in the last six months.

Those kidnapped allegedly paid ransoms ranging from N500,000 to about N5 million before they regained their freedom.

According to sources, Chairman, Transition Committee, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Cornell Onwubuya, reportedly alerted Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the state Commissioner of Police, Ekechukwu on the development.

He was said to have further alerted the leaders of the Fulani community in Enugu State, who met with stakeholders from Uzo-Uwani to address the issue.

Emergency meeting

Speaking at the emergency meeting in Enugu, Onwubuya said the meeting was convened to address the allegation that herdsmen planned to import about 500 of their tribesmen to enable them invade some communities in the area.

He noted that local leaders of the Fulani community also confirmed that there were attempts to bring in mercenaries for the attack on the communities, adding that the Fulani leaders in Enugu had complained that some of their people were killed within the axis of Ukpabi Nimbo and Abbi communities in the recent past.

In his speech at the meeting, Enugu State leader of the Fulani community, Alhaji Haldo Saidu Baso said that he had lived in Enugu State for over 33 years and would not be alive to witness the type of crises that they were talking about.

The Fulani community later resolved to talk to their people in the state not take the laws into their hands.

Baso said: “We will travel to Nasarawa State to talk to the cattle owners and stakeholders to warn the rustlers in Enugu State to stay away from trouble.”