A United States of America based Nigerian businessman, Mr. David Etute, has deplored the activities of herdsmen in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.
Etute expressed regret that due to the activities of the herdsmen, security of lives and property was no longer guaranteed in the once peaceful communities of the state.
The businessman spoke with our correspondent during the burial ceremony of his mother, Madam Agnes Omosefe Etute, at Egoro-Na-Oka in Esan West Local Government Area of the state.
He said the security of the Ekpoma- Egoro-Na-Oka- Ebudin road, which links Ekpoma with the southern part of the council area, had been compromised by the herdsmen who had been carrying out robbery operations on the road.
Etute disclosed that he spent a huge amount of money to provide security for his mother’s remains while in transit between Ekpoma and Egoro-Na-Oka to forestall it’s theft, adding that corpse of a middle aged man was seized by the herdsmen and used to block the road a week earlier.
“I spent a lot of money to provide security to convey the corpse of my late mother from Ekpoma to Egoro-Na-Oka. This is money I never budgeted for. I had to utilise the money I budgeted for the empowerment of youths and women in memory of my late mother”, he said.
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen have been terrorising motorists on the Ekpoma-Egoro-Na-Oka- Ebudin road in the past five weeks. The menace has caused untold hardship for motorists and commuters on the route as passengers have to pay twice the normal fare to access Egoro-Na-Oka and its environs through Opoji, Igueben and Ebudin, a longer route.
