The Gbo Kabari Ogoni, which groups elders of Ogoniland in Rivers State has raised the alarm over the occupation of their farmlands by AK-47-bearing herdsmen.
The Ogoni Elders Forum made the declaration in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday. The statement was entitled ‘Before we are killed again’.
They said the herdsmen were destroying their farmlands with their cows.
Ogoniland witnessed a prolonged crisis in the late 1990s, as some of the leaders campaigned against the pollution of their land and waterways by the activities of oil companies in the area. This led to the hanging by the military government of Gen Sanni Abacha, of the environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995.
The statement was signed by the Chairman of the group, Chief Monday Abueh and Secretary, Desmond Nbete.
They lamented that the herdsmen had seized vast areas of their farmlands under effective cultivation across five communities of Khana and Eleme local government areas of the state.
According to the statement, the action of the herdsmen constituted a threat to the peace and security of the area, noting that the development was undermining the livelihood of the people and their existence.
Below is the statement:
“Gbo Kabaari Ogoni, the Ogoni Elders’ Forum, are compelled to raise this urgent alarm on the menacing encroachment on farmlands in some Ogoni communities by armed herdsmen who brazenly graze cows on cultivated crops.
“Not only does this act threaten public peace and security in the affected communities, it also undermines the livelihood and, thus, threatens the very existence of a sizable population of our people and presages violent clashes and,
“God forbid loss of lives and more property if it is not nipped in the bud. For the past weeks, armed Fulani herdsmen have occupied vast areas of farmlands under effective cultivation in the Ogoni communities of Baa Luekun, Kpaa, Seme Luekun and Dae in Khana Local Government Area and Eteo in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“The invaders armed with sophisticated weapons especially the dreaded AK-47, some of which are strapped to their cows, have driven away farmers from their farmlands, forcibly occupied the farmlands and are grazing their cows on cultivated crops.
“We are particularly concerned by the fact that when resisted confronted by community leaders and representatives of our people, they have threatened mayhem and even boasted that the powers-that-be and the security agencies are aware of their presence, and would decisively deal with our people if further confronted.”
“Our people mainly depend on subsistence farming as their source of livelihood and sustenance and do not want any further attempt to add the menace of the marauding invasion by these armed herdsmen to the toxic mix.
“We are, therefore, calling on the government and its apparatus to protect our lives and property as a people even as we demand the immediate evacuation of these herdsmen and their cows from our farmlands. The lives and livelihoods of our people cannot and must not be sacrificed for cows.”