Angry youths block Benin-Ore road following the killing of a woman by suspected herdsmen

Some youths in the Ofumwengbe community in the Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, on Tuesday, blocked the Benin-Ore Expressway to protest the rape and gruesome murder of two women by suspected Fulani herdsmen at Okada junction.

It was gathered that  one of the victims, who had gone to her farm on Monday, failed to return, prompting the community to raise a search party for her.

According to a reports, the woman’s corpse was found on her farm with one of her arms and legs allegedly cut off by her assailants. It was gathered that the victim, who got married last year, was allegedly raped by the suspected herdsmen before she was killed.

Herdsmen in the area had fled for fear of being attacked by the youth.  The angry youths took the body of the victim to the expressway, where a bonfire was made to protest her death.  The protest, which caused a gridlock on the expressway, was later brought under control by security agents.

However, the state Commissioner of Police, DanMallam Muhammed, who confirme th incident said it has not been ascertained how the woman died adding that there was no clash between the herdsmen and youths in the area.

“The youths blocked the road because a woman died in the farm and they alleged that it was herdsmen that killed her. They did not wait for police investigation but blocked the road and brought hardship on travellers who did not know anything about it. The woman went to the farm and this morning she was discovered dead. The youths suspected it was herdsmen that killed her but nobody saw the herdsmen killing her,” he said.

He warned youths not to embark on protest as hoodlums always hijack such protest to disturb the peace of the state.

There seems to be an upsurge of criminal activities by Fulani herdsmen in the area as a lady who shared the story said two of her friends were kidnapped and had to pay N3million and N10million as ransom.