The conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria has been a longstanding issue, resulting in violence and loss of lives.
ONDO, Nigeria – A mysterious thunder on Sunday struck a community in Nigeria’s southwestern state of Ondo, killing at least eight cows, locals said, with police calling it a “natural phenomenon”.
A video of the incident went viral on social media on Monday, with the people and leaders of the agrarian community of Ori-Ohin in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of the state – suggesting that the disaster was due to the desecration of sacred farmland by the Fulani herders.
According to a local news outlet, the farmland in the Ori-hin community was ceded to some Ebira-speaking indigenes from Kogi State for farming, but the farmers had not been enjoying their produce following constant destruction from cows.
A local, identified as Joshua Ogunmola, confirmed the incident and said the herders had been flouting the open grazing laws by leaving their cows to graze on farmlands and destroying crops.
Ogunmola said the farmers, angered by the activities of the herders after reporting to the security agencies with less attention, decided to go spiritual to keep the herders away from their farm.
“The cows had earlier destroyed farmland in the community, and it appeared the sacrifice made by the owners of the farmlands caused the thunder to strike,” Peoples Gazette quoted him as saying.
A spokesperson for the traditional ruler in the community also said the mysterious incident occurred because the herders trespassed into the farmlands of the Ebira farmers.
He stressed that the herders had repeatedly been warned to stay off farmlands despite the government prohibiting open grazing and livestock movement.
“We woke up this morning only to be told that thunder or lightning killed eight cows in Ori-Ohin. The news filtered in when we were about to pray. It’s unfortunate, but these people keep flouting the state livestock rearing and grazing regulation and ranches establishment law 2021,” he said.
A police spokesperson in the state, Alayande Olushola Adeyinka, described the incident as a “natural phenomenon.”
“I can confirm that eight cows were killed by a thunder strike yesterday (Sunday) in the community. It’s a natural phenomenon, and we can’t hold anyone responsible for that act,” Adeyinka told Peoples Gazette.
He, however, said the police had deployed security operations to the community in the past few weeks following complaints over the activities of herders and bandits.
“So, we did not foresee any possible breakdown of law and order. Our men have been in the town for two weeks, carrying out soft operations to avoid any security breaches and clashes,” the police spokesperson said.
According to the news outlet, a similar incident occurred in 2019 at the ‘sacred’ Oke-Owa hill in Ijare, Ifedore Local Government Area, where 36 cows belonging to Fulani herdsmen were struck dead by lightning.
The villagers where the past incident occurred had linked it to the “anger of the gods” in the local community.
Another incident occurred a month later at Oyinmo quarters in Ikare Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State, where a mysterious thunder also killed eight cows on a mountain.
The cattle owned by some Fulani herdsmen were struck dead while grazing on top of the mountain, with the herders fleeing the scene after the incident.
‘KILLER HERDSMEN’
The conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria has been a longstanding issue, resulting in violence and loss of lives.
The Fulani people are believed to be the largest semi-nomadic group globally, found across West and Central Africa. In Nigeria, some continue to live as semi-nomadic herders, while others have moved to cities. Unlike city dwellers, the nomadic groups spend most of their lives in the bush and are often involved in clashes with farming communities, and also engage in kidnapping for ransom. They herd their animals across vast areas, frequently clashing with local farmers.
The herders now bear sophisticated weapons and use them to terrorize many parts of the country, with security operatives ignoring many of the attacks for allegedly not getting orders to go after the armed criminals.
Several brutal attacks happened under former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was born to a Fulani family on 17 December 1942, in Daura, a town in Katsina State, northwest Nigeria.
The continuous unprovoked attacks triggered resistance in South-East region, inhabited by Igbo people and South-West region, inhabited by the Yoruba people.
A Yoruba activist and philanthropist, Chief Dr. Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, demanded end to the attacks that have cost lives of thousands. He asked the Fulani people to vacate all the forests in South-West Nigeria.
As the Akoni Oodua of Yorubaland, he is known for fighting for the rights of the Yoruba people. He is currently advocating for a sovereign Yoruba country.
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