A group, Talakawa Parliament and Orhionmwon stakeholders, yesterday, issued a two-week ultimatum to killer-herders to quit forest and farm settlement in Edo state to enable farmers and women gain access to their farms without fear and threat to their lives.
Addressing journalists in Benin City, Coordinator of Talakawa Parliament, Marxist Kola Edokpayi, decried the killings by herdsmen in Edo State, particularly in Orhionmwon Council.
He urged Edo people to stop consuming beef as a protest to register their displeasure over the killings in Orhionmwon by killer-herders.
Lamenting the activities of herdsmen leading to the senseless killings across farms in Ugo Community in Orhionmwon Council, Edokpayi urged security agencies to wake up to the task of providing security for Edo people. He said: “The Commissioner of Police (CP) is hereby given 72 hours to arrest herdsmen responsible for the killings in Orhionmwon.
“The situation is worrisome and calls for urgent intervention as women are being raped on daily basis in the community.
“We do not pray for crisis in Edo as far as this issue is concerned. We call on all stakeholders to come together to stop the gruesome killings of farmers and women by criminal herdsmen in Edo state.
Also, Edo women staged a peaceful protest against the killings allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen in Uromi, Esan North East Council of the state.
Some of the protesters blocked major roads in the town, chanting solidarity songs and demanding that herdsmen must leave the community.
Besides, the state has insisted on compulsory use of face masks, as it recorded 30 new cases and two more deaths from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the total number of deaths to 30.
The state COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr. Andrew Obi, disclosed this in a virtual meeting chaired by Governor, Godwin Obaseki.
He urged residents to observe safety measures to contain the spread of the virus, especially maintaining social distance, regular washing of hands with soap under running water and use of face masks in public places.
Meanwhile, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, revealed plans to collaborate with the state judiciary on the establishment of a Revenue Court to boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Obaseki disclosed this after handing over the new High Court Complex to the Chief Judge (CJ) of Edo State, Justice Esther Edigin.
Speaking, Justice Edigin, commended Obaseki for the infrastructure development in the judiciary, adding that the judiciary was the bastion of Nigeria’s democracy and the last hope of the common man.
The Guardian
