Governor Ayodele Fayose has warned that he will not tolerate the invasion of communities in Ekiti State by armed herdsmen even as he called on security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities.
The governor was reacting to last Friday’s night attack by suspected herdsmen on Oke Ako in Ikole Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
Two persons reportedly died from the attack while three others are currently being treated for injuries sustained during the invasion in separate private hospitals in Ikole Ekiti and Ado Ekiti.
Describing the marauders as “agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly”, Governor Fayose warned that there could be reprisal attacks on Fulani herdsmen in the state if they did not desist from invading communities and attacking the people.
While commiserating with the people, especially the family of the deceased, the governor, who recently advised people of the state to poison waters that the herdsmen’s cows usually drink from while grazing, vowed to do everything within his power to prevent a repeat of the Oke Ako attacks in any part of the state.
Fayose in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, noted that the Fulani herdsmen were becoming a major threat to the unity of Nigeria.
“I will not fold my hands while armed herdsmen invade communities in Ekiti, killing people and destroying farmlands at will as they have done in other states.
“I have directed the police and other security agencies in the state to fish out the killer herdsmen. I am in constant touch with the security agencies and I hope that the killer herdsmen will be fished out wherever they are and made to face the full wrath of the law.
“The people of Oke-Ako should therefore remain calm while the security agents do their job. However, the security agents must be mindful of the fact that the people’s patience has a limit and they must therefore act promptly and decisively”.
