Residents of Attakwu, in Enugu West Senatorial Zone, Friday, expressed outrage over the attack on them by Fulani herdsmen.
This is as they have maintained that they would no longer allow herdsmen to remain in the community.
DAILY POST reports that it was a day of rage on Friday as they attempted to lynch their traditional ruler of the community, His Royal Highness, Igwe Greg Ugwu.
The youths, who consistently booed the monarch, blamed him for the invasion of the community by Fulani herdsmen.
It was the same case for the chairman of Ndiagu Attakwu union, Mr. Ndubuisi Ogbodo, as the youths nearly descended on him after he failed to make strong worded statement over the attack.
Ogbodo had while speaking, showered encomiums on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as well as security agencies.
The situation did not go down well with the residents.It took the intervention of member representing Nkanu East/Nkanu West constituency, Hon. Chukwuemeka Ujam to save the situation.
This is as the residents insisted that this was not a time for “message of peace”, but a time to issue the herdsmen quit notice.
The residents, while accusing the monarch of having unholy alliance with the herdsmen maintained that they were no longer ready to accept them back into the community.
“They must go; no space for them; enough is enough; allow us to defend ourselves”, they shouted repeatedly.
“They must go; no space for them; enough is enough; allow us to defend ourselves”, they shouted repeatedly.
Earlier while addressing the angry residents, Ujam appealed to the federal government and the security agencies to protect members of his constituency from further attacks by Fulani herdsmen.
Ujam who made the appeal when he visited the community to pay his condolences and sympatize with the people over the invasion of the community by herdsmen on Thursday, stated that the killing of the Catholic seminarian and inflicting life threatening injuries on four others was painful and unprovoked.
The law maker, who is also from the community, was accompanied by his colleague, Hon Kingsley Ebenyi representing Isi-Uzo/Enugu East federal constituency, and the traditional ruler of the community, HRM Igwe Gregory Ugwu.
He said, “My colleague and I are here to see for ourselves what happened in the early ours of yesterday. Let me refresh your memory. I was quite vocal on the floor of the National Assembly when a similar act happened in Nimbo community and we stressed that this kind of dastardly act should seize.
“We have come here today, painfully, yet again to hear the same story. I will put on record that our people are peace loving people. I want to thank them so far for maintaining the peace. There has been no reprisal and I pray it continues that way.
“I also want to thank His excellency the governor, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for coming immediately it happened. I also thank, as I can see, the presence of various security personnel, I thank them for also responding.
“But I must say that I’m extremely pained because we have been hearing of this in various parts of the country. It has come to the South East, it has come to Enugu state yet again. I know that those of us in the National Assembly have had meetings trying to come up with proposals on how to stop this activity.
“But I call on the federal government, I call on the security agencies to step up; it is their responsibility to protect the lives and property of the Nigerian citizen. No life is worth losing for any reason whatsoever and when you hear the story about how this happened, it pains the more.
“This was simply an unprovoked attack. Cattle came into a farm and cattle was just chased away; does that warrant murder in cold blood?
“My people are pained, they are agitating but we are appealing to them to hold the peace, two wrongs should not make a right.
“So, I once again call on the federal government and the security agencies to protect my people, we do not want to take laws into our hands, we are grieving.”
Similarly, Hon. Kingsley Ebenyi, who equally expressed shock over the incident declared: “enough is enough; you can see the level of anger in the mind of the people; this should be the last.”
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