Herdsmen Return to Igangan Community, Maim 62-Year Old Retired Principal

Two months after being forcefully ejected from Igangan, herdsmen returned to the community on Friday, April 2, 2021 and attacked a retired principal, Ojemokun Ogunmodede, inflicting serious machete injuries on both of his arms.

According to the PUNCH newspaper, sources close to the victim said there had been no confrontation between him and the herdsmen before their brutal attack and that the attack was so brutal that the retired principal’s hands had almost been chopped off.

Further confirmation came from Mr. Taiwo Adeagbo, the Secretary of Ibarapa Farmers Union who said herdsmen had not stopped unleashing mayhem on the community, attacking farmers and destroying their farmlands.

In his words: “The victim is my relative. He is a retired principal and he should be around 62 years old. I was called to see what happened to him. I immediately called the Commissioner of Police (Ngozi Onadeko). She said I should report to the police officially and I called the DPO in Ayete. He came with two officers and two vans loaded with armed policemen.

“The DPO could not look at the pictures of the victim. They were gory. Strands of flesh are preventing the two hands from falling off after the attack. The two hands are almost off. They have ruined his life.”

When the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Olugbenga Fadeyi was contacted for comment, he told the PUNCH that it was a reprisal attack after an earlier attack on three of the Fulani herdsmen by some Igangan youths.

He said: “Information from DPO Ayete revealed that a Fulani herdsman attacked and matcheted a man in his farm by causing injury to his hands.

“The attack was a reprisal by some Fulani youths in Igangan as three Fulani herdsmen were previously attacked and were rushed to a hospital in Igboora for treatment of injuries sustained during the attack.

“The DPO of Ayete and his police personnel were drafted to the scene to prevent further attack. The aggrieved youths were dispersed and normalcy restored.”