NIGERIA: Ohaji Women Protest in Owerri

Thousands of placards-carrying and aggrieved women from Ohaji Local council in Imo State, staged a peaceful protest at the premises of Imo State House of Assembly at the weekend, pleading with the lawmakers and state government to immediately intervene and save their lives from what they called “forceful occupation of their farmlands by herdsmen” using them as grazing grounds for their cattle.

Led by Mrs. Martina Eze, Caroline Nwali and Mary Odo, the woman stated that some Fulani herdsmen have invaded their farms for some time now and destroyed their farm produce.

The women who came from Obiti, Ihe, Umuapu and Awara - all in Ohaji/Egbema council of the state - alleged that some of their kiths and kin who asked the herdsmen to quit their farmlands were killed by the cattle rearers.

According to them, the herdsmen also allegedly raped and killed a 19-yearly old Miss Grace Amadi and another, Rolland Onuoha, in May 20 and 24 respectively. Onuoha's body, they alleged, was thrown into a pit.

The women also demanded that unless they were led back to their ancestral homes by security men, they would not leave the assembly premises.

Recalling that the herdsmen had settled permanently in their farmlands with dangerous weapons ready to attack them on sight, the protesters also said they depended on farming and that since they stopped going to farm they have been dying of starvation.

“We are being harassed and prevented from entering our farmlands while the herdsmen take their cattle in there and graze them. They have raped our children, killed a man there and threw his corpse into a pit. We can no longer take this,” one of them said.

Henry Ajoku, the president general of the town union of the area, said they would no longer tolerate such in the area, stressing that they were law abiding citizens who required government to do the right thing by averting impending crisis and stop such act by the herdsmen.

The Deputy Speaker of the house, Chief Jonas Okeke, who received them, regretted such incidence. He said following the signing of the Law number 9 of 2006, prohibiting herdsmen from grazing cattle in unauthorized areas by the Governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, the state government has set up a task force to enforce it.

He also said the house had held meeting with the state Commissioner of Police, Commissioners for Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Works and Transport and other stakeholders on the problem.