Ngozi Okpala
Suspected Fulani herdsmen have reportedly attacked two Enugu communities, killing one and injuring another.
The communities are Ugwujoro Nimbo, in the Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, and Awha-Ndiagu, in the Ezeagu LGA of the state.
UGAMATV gathered that the attack at Awha-Ndiagu took place on Saturday, where a young man, Celestine Obieze, was cut with machetes.
The attack on Nimbo happened on Monday, where a woman, identified as Cordelia Utazi, was hacked to death on her farm.
A community leader, Mr Ibe Caleb, told our correspondent on Thursday that Obieze was attacked while weeding his farm.
He said the victim was lucky as residents came to his rescue after his wife found him on the farm in a pool of blood and alerted people.
“At the time our people went to the farm, he was in a coma; he could barely talk. He was butchered with machetes in the back and one of his fingers was lost before he was rushed to a hospital,” he added.
The late Cordelia, popularly known as Oyee Eze, was reportedly killed while working on her farm with her daughter, Onyinye.
A community leader, who did not want his name in print, said her remains were deposited at the Faith Foundation Hospital mortuary in the Nsukka metropolis.
He said, “The deceased and her daughter were weeding the farm when her daughter looked up and saw Fulani herdsmen with their cattle on their farm. The daughter saw the herdsmen moving very fast in their direction and took to her heels. The mother, Cordelia Utazi, also wanted to run, but the herdsmen shot her. When they got to where she was lying helplessly, they used cutlasses to cut off her hands.
They equally used something to smash her skull.
“It was the daughter who ran to the village to inform others of what happened to her mother. In that state of confusion, the villagers rushed to the scene and found the woman in a pool of blood.
“Before they could reach there, the herders had disappeared into nearby bushes with their cattle.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, said the state command had commenced investigation to fish out the hoodlums.
Although Ndukwe could not confirm the attack in Ezeagu, he said, “Investigation has been launched to fish out the hoodlums alleged to have murdered a middle-aged woman in Ugwujoro Nimbo.”
However, the South East Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, said his members were not responsible for the attacks.
He said, “There are no herdsmen at Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State as of today.” ,,
Chisom Orjiogbu
