Violent Clash Erupts Between Amotekun Corps and Suspected Herdsmen in Ondo

Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as the Amotekun Corps, were involved in a violent clash with suspected herdsmen in Sango, Igoba, Akure, the state capital, over the weekend.

The clash occurred as the Amotekun operatives were enforcing the state’s anti-open grazing law.

According to reports from the media, the altercation led to some operatives being brutally macheted, causing a significant disruption in vehicular movement along the Ado-Akure road for several hours.

The Amotekun operatives were responding to a distress call from farmers regarding the destruction of their farmlands and crops by the herders’ cattle. Upon arrival, they were attacked by the herdsmen.

The late governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, had signed the anti-open grazing bill into law on August 13, 2021, prohibiting the open grazing of animals across the state.

Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Amotekun Corps, Jimoh Adeniken, praised the operatives for their courage and determination in handling the volatile situation despite the violent assault.

“During the operation, the corps surveillance team was led to the farms by the owners. On getting there, they met over one hundred and twenty cows ravaging the farms, and there was nobody with the cows,” Adeniken stated.

“Determined to enforce the anti-open grazing law of the state, the operatives moved the cows out of the farms.

While passing by the Sango Area, at Igoba, along Ado Road in Akure, groups of armed Fulani herdsmen attacked the officers with stones, bottles, cutlasses, and guns.”

Following the initial assault, the Amotekun corps received orders from state headquarters to retreat.

However, the assailants continued their attack, throwing stones and bottles, and eventually hacked one Amotekun officer into a coma while attempting to disarm the operatives.

In response, the Amotekun officers fired shots into the air to disperse the attackers and safely retreat to their office.