24th August, 2022
By Richard Elesho
An attempt by a herdsman to rape a woman on her farm in Takete Ide, a community in Kogi West senatorial district last Tuesday has resulted in outrage ad anger among the indigenes of the area.
It was gathered that the traumatised victim of the failed rape was on her farm behind one Chief Omoniwa’s house in the outskirts of Takete Ide when the herdsman with his cattle invaded her garden.
Afraid of infuriating the intruder, she looked on as the cattle fed on and destroyed her crops.
When the animals have had their fill, the herdsman led them out of the garden. But, he immediately returned and made a violent advance to satisfy his sexual urge.
The terrified woman shouted and picked race. The unfazed herder followed her in quick steps, dangling a machete ad shouting “dori falafala.”
A struggle ensued with the outlaw applying his weapon to weaken the woman.
After receiving many machete cuts, the woman fell. However, before the victorious assailant could go further, a motorcyclist arrived the scene to terminate his evil bid.
However, the account of the ordeal of the woman who narrowly escaped being rape with severe injury from her struggles with the Bororo, (as Fulani herders are called) has been trending since Tuesday night on social media platforms of the community.
This had led for calls on efforts to check the trend by sons and daughters of the community.
“It is really scary. So, the Bororos no longer wait in the bushes to curse harm for us but you can go to near by bush to ease oneself and end up being harmed by them. You can imagine what could have happened without somebody passing by. Government should please come to our aid,” retiree said on one of the platforms.
In the same vein, an Abuja based businessman and community leader, Prince Dare Fiki, also raised alarm over the harassment of women in lonely places and other security violations by herders in communities in Kogiwest Senatorial Zone.
He urged government to urgently strengthen security in the area.
Fiki who is also President of Takete-Ide Progressive Union, TIPU, suggested the combined use of tested traditional safety methods and the conventional security personnel to tackle the menace.
“My appeal is to the government to come to our rescue. We have a situation where our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters are painfully being harassed and violated by this criminal group. All over Okun land, farms are no longer safe,” Fiki said.