By Uchenna Inya
A 14-year-old girl in Umuifi community, Anioma-Isu in Onicha local government area of Ebonyi State, Favour(surname withheld) was yesterday allegedly raped by Herdsman in the area.
The victim who is a student of Union secondary school, Agueke-Isu in the area has been taken to a medical facility for treatment.
Narrating her ordeal, the teenager who is very sad over the rape said she was on the farm fetching vegetables when the herdsman besieged her and raped her.
She called on the state government to look into the activities of Fulani herdsmen in Umuifi community in order to avert any negative the episode involving young girls in the near future.
“I went to the farm to fetch vegetables when I was attacked by a Fulani herdsman.
He came to our farm with his cows and cross the cow around; he asked me if am with water and food, I said no; he now went and got more cows to surround me; he told me that if I allow him to have sex with him, that he will give me N700. I refused and started running away. He chased me and used the back of his cutlass on my back
so I fell and he raped me.
“I feel sad; I want the government to come to my aid as young girls like me are no longer safe to go the farm and help our parent; the government should make sure the Fulani herdsman is prosecuted according to the law. Every Fulani herdsman with bad intention should be meant to leave our land.”
Chairman of the community, Festus Nwachukwu who confirmed the incident, condemned the activities of Fulani herdsmen in Umuifi Anioma-Isu community, describing it as a threat to agricultural revolution of the state.
According to him, even though the suspect has been arrested by the police, the act that was committed by the Fulani herdsman is an abomination to community’s land.
“We are going to carrying out a cleansing ceremony on the land so that it will remain fertile.
The Fulani herdsmen are destroying our farms; if you want to talk to them they will threaten you with knives; our major occupation is farming; we can no more farm because of this menace; they are fond of using their cows to destroy our farmlands and crops.
“The government policies on agriculture are being threatened in Onicha LGA. I came back from church and learnt that this girl was raped by a Fulani man when she went to the farm to get vegetables; and that if she refuses he will kill her; he used the knives to beat her on the back and then raped her.
What has happened is an abomination in our land; the man has damaged the fertility of the land and we are going to use cows, fowls and many cartons of beers and palm wine to bless the land”, he said.
A member of the State Committee on Herdsmen, Mr Amechi Oken who extolled Governor David Umahi for putting types of machinery in place to checkmate the excesses of herdsmen in the state added that the Committee usually visit locations were skirmishes between herdsmen and farmers occur in order to proffer solution.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Loveth Oda said the matter has not been reported to her office and promised to carry out further investigation into it. ENDS
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