14th October, 2021
Hundreds of women from five communities in the Ogba-Egbema-Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State have taken to the streets to protest against herdsmen.
The women who protested on Wednesday and Thursday accused the herdsmen of invasion and destruction of their farmlands.
The women blocked the council entrance, demanded that the herdsmen vacate their farmlands.
They also urged the Rivers State government to intervene on the matter.
One of the protesters, Mrs. Isiodu Nkeiruka, who is the women leader of Obirikom, Usomoni clan, claimed that the herdsmen had been disturbing their farms for over seven years.
She said the farmers complained to various leaders within the local government and also reached out to council officials, the Department of State Services, the Joint Taskforce and the police area command without any result.
“If the open grazing prohibition bill has been passed into law, they should enforce it, so that herdsmen will stop what they are doing.
“The herdsmen have been going to our farms, destroying our yam tubers, cassava, and other crops. They have been chasing us with knives and using guns to terrorize us, even raping our women.
“Enough is enough! Even if you do not eat garri or cassava, your children and mothers eat it. We are pleading with the government to come to our aid,” Nkeiruka stated.