Kogi: Youths protest, as gunmen kill 2 farmers in Odo-Ape

By Richard Elesho

Scores of young men and women trouped out this Saturday, 4 January, in Odo-Ape, an agrarian community in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area, Kogi State, to protest what they described as incessant attacks and activities of gunmen.

The protesters blocked the federal highway, linking Kabba to Obajana, home of the Dangote Cement. They held leafs and chanted anti- establishment songs.

The protest followed last Friday’s killing of two farmers by suspected bandits in the area.

An eyewitness who preferred anonymity described the murder of the two innocent individuals who were going about looking for their daily bread as gruesome.

He said the unidentified hoodlums gunned down one Tiv man he simply identified as Mr Black who was moving his farm harvests to the market in preparation for sale the next day. He said the victim refused to stop at the approach of the criminals, and they “immediately opened fire, killing him on the spot.”

He further noted that after they had shot Mr Black dead, they discovered one Sunday Aiyedero was in the farm within the vicinity. Fearing discovery, they also opened fire and killed him instantly.

Some of the residents who spoke to our reporter described the security situation in Odo-Ape and environs as worrisome, calling on the government and security agencies to come to their aid, pointing out that they can no longer sleep with their eyes closed.