Suspected Fulani herdsmen on Monday killed one Mmaduabuchi Ogbebor in Ezube-Amankpuma village, Okawu community in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The victim’s body was found on Monday along Onu Enuka Road, after Ukaba Development Centre.

A motorcycle belonging to the deceased was also allegedly taken away by his killers.

A source said the herdsmen, who were asked to leave the area by the villagers, allegedly killed the deceased on their way out of the community.

The source added that it was the third time the community would ask the herders to leave their land, but they kept coming back.

A member of the Council of Chiefs in Okawu Autonomous Community in the Onicha LGA, Chief Samuel Ugota, confirmed the incident to our correspondent, adding that the body of the deceased was found shortly after the herdsmen left the community on Monday.

Ugota, “Last year, we did not use that land because they took it over. This year, as we are about to farm on the land, they came again with hundreds of cows. But we insisted they must leave.

“Last Saturday, the youths went and pursued the cows out of the land. They (Fulani herdsmen) invited the police. When the policemen came, we explained the issue to them, and urged them to plead with the herdsmen to leave our farmland.

“They accepted after some hours of persuasions, but insisted they must look for their missing cows first before leaving and we accepted.

“We gave them till Monday. But they came to say they won’t leave again until they found all their cows.

“We insisted they must go, because we don’t have their cows. When they were about to leave, their leader and I even exchanged phone contacts. But shortly after they left, the body of someone from our village was found by the roadside, where he was shot dead. His motorcycle was also taken away by his killers,” Ugota said.

The police spokesperson in the state, DSP Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident.

“The Commissioner of Police has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter,” she said