LAGOS APRIL 17TH (URHOBOTODAY)-The people of Ubulu-Uku Community in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State have sent a save-our-souls to the Inspector- General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba Akali and Governor Okowa of the state over invasion of their bushes by Gunmen and killer herdsmen.

The gunmen including killer herdsmen have been terrorising the community for over a period of time. Three years ago, a traditional chief , Chikwe Okonji ,was butchered like a ram on his farm . The same year, a medical practitioner Dr. Odozi, was shot dead by gunmen on Ubulu-Uku- Isele-Uku road ,while many others, including a School principal were abducted for ransom on the same road. The former Delta State Commissioner of Police Ari Mohammed Ali did his best by stemming the tide of kidnappings and other sundry crims. Just as if the gunmen and killer herdsmen were monitoring CP Ali, immediately he was redeployed to Zone 2 Commad, Lagos, the gunmen and killer herdsmen have invaded Ubulu-Uku community again. The people are now living in fears as the gunmen have resumed hostility in their forest, with their latest victim, Mr. Onuwa Ukwa, who was abducted in his farm.

According to Ukwa, he had gone to attend to his palmwine on Easter Monday evening in their farm forest, a distance of about ten kilometers from the town.He said on arrival where the felled palmwine trees were located, he was in the process of the usual inspection of the palmwine filtering points, when someone pointed torch light on him with an instruction that he should come forward.

The 43-year-old palm wine tapper cum trader said initially, he had mistaken the man who ordered him to come forward to be one of his fellow palmwine tappers, but before he could truly ascertain who was talking to him, four other hefty men with torch lights and rifles in their hands emerged from nowhere, jointly commanding him to come closer.

When he realized the strangeness of the people who were closing in, on him with rifles in their hands, he became afraid and quite indecisive of what to do next. In a jiffy, he chose to do their bidding as they queried him asking him if he is a native of the town.

According to him,” the gunmen told me that they were escaping from ill fated mission but suddenly missed their way. So they asked me to show them pathway that leads to where they could get to the main road leading to Agbor-Asaba expressway.

” They were coming from the Ogwashi-Uku end through the pathway of electricity high tension commonly known in local parlance as Power line. I tried to convince them that walking backwards through the Power line pathway towards Ogwashi-Uku would be shorter for them, but they feared that they might end up falling into the hands of their pursuers and sternly warned me not to mention Ogwashi-Uku again.

“So they ordered me to take them through another direction with a threat that should I fail to take them to where they could easily escape, they would kill me . Courageously, I led them westward assuring them that they would get easy access through Ute Ogbeje Village. I was leading the way with tough light brought by the armed men. As we journeyed, the men ordered me to switch off my phone with a threat that if the phone rang, they would kill me .

“The journey took us hours through the bush path from about 8pm on Monday night to 5am on Tuesday morning. After some hours of trekking, navigating the dangerous bush paths, the armed men who seemed to have lost some energy, suggested that we took some rest. While clustering around some trees, I was asked to stay some metres away.

After they had rested and checked time to be about 5am, I informed them that the distance to Ute Ogbeje was not much. There and then, we continued with the journey and on sighting some houses in the village and getting more direction on how to access the main road leading to Agbor, they told me that I was free to go back while the five of them would continue with the journey.

“Having secured my freedom, I took to my heels fearing that the men might come after me . I ran as fast as I could, with the excitement of one who narrowly escaped death”.

Meanwhile, since he stayed beyond his normal time of returning from palmwine evening inspection, members of Ukwa’s immediate community (Udo Quarters) had gathered themselves into a search team largely made up of youths.

The youths in their dozens armed with matchets had stormed the forest searching through familiar palmwine tapping areas where Ukwa’s motorcycle and gallons were seen. According to one of the youths who spoke on the condition of anonymity ,immediately they discovered the motorcycle without any trace of him, there was the near conclusion that Ukwa must have been killed by unknown persons particularly as Fulani herdsmen had over the years invaded the forest with their cows ravaging everywhere.

After hours of fruitless search for Ukwa, the youths returned home about 2am to report to their elders. It was gathered that report about the missing Ukwa was made to the local vigilante group and the police station at Ubulu-Uku before the search team embarked on their journey.

Coincidentally, as the Udo community elders were strategizing with the youths on Tuesday morning on how to decisively storm the forest in search of the missing Onuwa Ukwa, he suddenly arrived the community about 7.30am to the joyful embrace of family and community members.

Meanwhile, the fears of Ubulu-Uku Community with respect to the settlement of the Fulani herdsmen in parts of the community’s forest is giving residents serious concern as rumours have it that given the audacity of the herdsmen in settling down without qualms, is worrisome.

The community has therefore, sent a save-our-souls to IGP Baba, Okowa and other security agencies to do the needful, by arresting the gunmen and killer herdsmen that have invaded the community forest.

A community leader, Mark Chiedozie, said that ,” the IGP, Okowa and other community leaders should do the needful before what happened three years ago where our traditional chief Chikwe Ojinji and the Medical Director of Good News Hospital, Isele-Uku, Dr. Andrew Odozi respectively, have been murdered by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen. Dr Odozi died in line of his duty while responding to a distress call that one man was shot by Fulani herdsmen. Recall that our Traditional Ruler , Obi Edward Akaeze Ofulue , was abducted by herdsmen and was killed in a most horrific maner. Many others were also killed and unspecified number of people raped while some others were kidnapped for ransom.Herdsmen have taken over our boundary forest of Obior, Isele-Uku, Ogwashi-Uku and Abu-Ugba”.

Sun News Online