Hundreds of Indigenes of Kokori Community in the Ethiope-East Local Government Area of Delta State have chased away suspected herdsmen from their farmlands.
They alleged that the suspected herdsmen destroyed their farm produce, stressing that the destruction from the herdsmen was massive.
The indigenes chanted solidarity songs as they danced in a peaceful protest demanding that the herdsmen leave their land.
Spokesman of the Kokori Council of Chiefs, Albert Akpomudjere said they chased the herdsmen away to avoid further destruction of their agricultural produce.
He explained, “It is the income from the farm produce we are using to feed our children and pay their school fees and others.
“We cannot fold our hands and allow these herdsmen destroy our farm produce and before now we have called them for a peaceful meeting several times for them to leave our land with due process yet they refused to listen to us.
“So, we have made up our mind today to chase them out of our farmlands and we are not going to use any act of violence. We will go to our farm in groups to tell them that they should leave our farmland not by force but by peaceful means.
“Before we even came up with this method we informed government authority including the security agencies on what we are to do for the interest and safety of our farm produce”.
Other locals who bared their minds on the matter said the initiative is a welcome development, stressing that this is the best method to ensure the safety of their crops.
Efforts to speak with members representing the people of Ethiope-East Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly member, Arthur Akpowowo, Deputy Speaker for a comment was not successful at the time of this report.
Indigenes mobilise, chase away herdsmen from community farms, forest in Delta