Fatalities have been reported from a gruesome attack at a Nimbo community believed to be perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen.
The attack happened at Ugwuijor community, in Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The assailants reportedly stormed on mourners in the village on Sunday evening, shooting sporadically. An eyewitness said the count of the dead is high, but could give no definite figure. Several more were rushed to hospital.
Those who managed to escape unhurt have reportedly fled their homes.
Disturbing images from the scene show lifeless bodies in the pool of their blood, ostensibly from gunshot wounds.
What’s Fueling Interest of Herders At Uzo-Uwani?
Uzo Uwani has come under repeated attacks from killer herdsmen. A 2016 massacre in which over a hundred natives were killed according to some reports, awoke the consciousness of the nation to the emerging dangers that later characterized the tenure of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s from 2015-2023.
The central government, which exclusively is in charge of security forces, was then reported to have bucked on intelligence from the state authorities about the impending disaster until it occurred.
Uzo Uwani is known as one of Southeast’s most lush arable lands, pitting local indigenous farmers there against the roving interest of herders.
Edeoga Condemns Attack
Neither the police nor the state government have issued an official statement regarding this occurrence.
But Labour Party gubernatorial candidate in the state in the last election, Chijioke Edeoga, in a statement he issued, vehemently condemned the attack as “horrific” and “intolerable”. He said he is demanding “immediate and resolute action from both the state and federal governments” on the matter.
He wants President Bola Tinubu to “do more to secure farmlands and farmers not only in the North, but also in the East, particularly in Enugu State”
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