Armed men suspected to be herdsmen have attacked four communities in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, killing over 20 farmers.
The deadly attacks were said to have been perpetrated at midnight, over the weekend, and took place in Aba Pastor, Aba Sunday, Ademekun camp, and Aba Alajido camps within Ala Elefosan.
A resident of one of the communities said fourteen bodies were recovered in the last 48 hours, adding that some residents are still missing.
The Regent of one of the communities attacked – Ademekun camp – Adelowo Adekemisola, lamented that fourteen farmers were killed in the area by the gunmen.
Adekemisola said they stormed the communities in the middle of the night via the boundary with Edo State and started shooting sporadically.
The Public Relations Officer of Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident to newsmen.
Odunlami said the police and other security agencies have since swung into action to apprehend the murderers and provide adequate security in farming communities around Akure North Local Government Area.
However, the Ondo State Government has yet to comment on the matter as of the time of publishing this report.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks against farmers in Nigeria. Similar incidents have been recorded across the country, especially in the northern region where gang members have held sway.
In January, scores of farmers were killed in the North-Eastern state of Borno after some gunmen rounded them up in Dumba on the shores of Lake Chad and shot them dead.
For a country battling food insecurity with inflation soaring to new levels, experts have cautioned that the attacks on farmers could worsen the food crisis facing one of Africa’s economic powerhouses.
