Our traditional ruler ceded a portion of our land to Fulani herdsmen to settle - Ndiagu Attakwu community blames Fulani terrorists attack on monarch

Our traditional ruler ceded  a portion of our land to Fulani herdsmen  to settle - Ndiagu Attakwu community blames Fulani terrorists attack on monarch

The Ndiagu Attakwu Akegbe community in Nkanu West Local Government, Enugu State has blamed the recent unprovoked attack on their communities by Fulani herdsmen on their traditional ruler who illegally ceded a piece of land to Fulani herdsmen to settle. 

The Ndiagu, Attakwu community was early Thursday morning, thrown into mourning following the invasion by over 50 Fulani Herdsmen armed with machetes, who slaughtered a Catholic Seminarian, Lazarus Nwafor. Four members of the Ogbodo Nwarum family, where Nwafor, the Seminarian, who finished his apostolic work at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Ndiagu, Attakwu, last Tuesday, was a tenant, sustained severe machete cuts from the rampaging Fulani herdsmen who slit the stomach of a six months pregnant Mrs. Nwarum in the operation that started at about 2.15am.

Until his death, Nwafor, was a seminarian at the Catholic Spiritan International School of Theology, CSIST, Attakwu. The injured victims, are in critical conditions at the Mother of Christ Teaching Hospital and Parklane Teaching Hospital Enugu. 

Residents of the community who spoke on condition of anonymity blamed their ordeal on their traditional ruler who allegedly collected money from the herdsmen and gave them a portion of their land to settle. They alleged that the traditional ruler was even given a contract by the herdsmen to grade the route leading to their settlement. Reacting, the traditional ruler of the community, Chief Greg Ugwu, said that he knew nothing of the settlement of the herdsmen in the community. Ugwu said that the cattle breeders were already in the community before he was crowned as the traditional ruler, adding that he had no business with them. 

Visit to Ndiagu community showed that economic activities in the agrarian community have grounded to a halt while a deafening graveyard silence hung copious in the air. Women and children wailed profusely even as elderly men, youths lamented uncontrollable over the brazen manner, with which the Fulani herdsmen have raped, robbed, maimed and taken over their farmlands.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen, the Chairman of Attakwu Autonomous Community, Chief Ndubuisi Ogbodo said that the suspected herdsmen struck the community out of no justified provocation. Ogbodo said that one Lazarus Nwankwo from Imo, a final year student of Spiritan International School of Theology, was killed in the attack. He said that a certain woman from the family of one Mr Ogbodo Nwarum had on Wednesday tried to stop some cattle from grazing on her farm located at the back of her house. “When the woman saw the cattle grazing on her farm, she sounded a gong which scared the cattle away from the premises. “The herdsmen got furious and challenged her on why she scared their cattle and threatened to come back for her. “The herdsmen later came back in the early hours of Thursday and invaded their compound during which the pregnant woman and three other members of her household were attacked with machete,” he said. He said that the seminarian, who was a tenant in the compound, heard the shouts of the woman and her household and darted out to see what was happening but got killed. Ogbodo said that the other four victims got deadly machete cuts and were critically ill and were receiving treatment in two hospitals. 

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State described the murder of the seminarian unfortunate. Ugwuanyi, who visited the community on receipt of the report of the invasion of the community in the early hours of Thursday, said the government would no longer tolerate such barbaric attack on his people. 

“This morning, I received the report of an attack by suspected herdsmen on Attakwu community during which a seminarian, Mr Lazarus Nwankwo, was killed and four others injured. “Even though the police are still conducting investigations into the matter, I hasten to condemn this act as the government cannot tolerate the wanton destruction of lives anywhere in the state under any guise,” he said. Ugwuanyi said that he had summoned a meeting with the leadership of the herdsmen and security agencies to review the situation and determine the appropriate actions to be taken. 

“It is unfortunate that this incident is coming just days after the commission of inquiry into the killing at Nimbo submitted an interim report and is about to conclude its assignment. 

“I wish to express our sympathies to the families of the deceased and assure them that the government would do everything to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book,” he said. Ugwuanyi said that the government would continue to take adequate measures to ensure the protection of lives and property. 

The governor drove into the forest where the herdsmen lived but could not meet anyone as the entire settlement had been deserted.