Suspected herdsmen strike in Ekiti, kill pregnant woman.

                       
  Barely twenty four hours after
Governor Ayo Fayose’s peace meeting with
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association,
farmers and local hunters in the state,
suspected herdsmen invaded Orin-Ekiti on
Thursday, killing a pregnant woman and
unleashing injuries on several others.
The meeting which was at the instance of
Governor Fayose was conveyed in order to
forestall a reprisal attack by Fulani herdsmen
following the alleged killing of one of their
own, Babuga Dengi, by a suspected Tiv man,
whom, according to sources got angry when
the dead herdsman invaded his farm with his
cattle and destroyed his crops.
The deceased, a Tiv woman was hacked to
death by those in the farm settlement located
in Orin-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government
Area of Ekiti state, referred to as “Bororo
herdsmen” at the town’s Farm Settlement in
the early hours of Thursday .
An indigene of the town who is a former
Chairman of Ido/Osi Local Government,
Prince Sanmi Olubummo, who confirmed the
incident in a telephone conversation ,
disclosed that another victim of the attack was
receiving treatment at a hospital.
He said, “The incident happened inside the
Orin Farm Settlement. Nobody knows what
led to the crisis in the early hours of Thursday
but our people said the Bororo herdsmen
killed the pregnant woman.”
Olubummo told newsmen that policemen
from Ido-Ekiti Divisional Headquarters
visited the scene of the killing saying the
situation was calm.
Meanwhile, the community has vowed to go
ahead with a referendum on the choice of the
next Olorin, the stool had been vacant for
several years now. The indigenes are
expected to vote “YES” or “NO” on the
number of ruling houses in the community.
One of the elders of the town, the Onikare of
Orin-Ekiti, High Chief Bamidele Fasuyi, said
the referendum will go ahead as planned on
Saturday despite the killing incident.
But the Regent and the Olorin-in-Council has
said it would hold a referendum on Saturday
to resolve controversies surrounding the royal
stool.
There are three Ruling Houses in the town:
Famokiti, Olubummo and Idimehinsuwon.
But there is a controversy over the acceptance
of Idimehinsuwon as one of the ruling houses.
A statement signed on behalf of the Olorin-in-
Council, by the Onikare,
High Chief Fasuyi, urged the ruling houses to
make their representatives available to witness
the referendum.
“The referendum is aimed at the community’s
populace who are the
stakeholders on the issue of who rules them to
publicly express their candid opinions on the
matter of who is entitled to rule over them.
“This referendum is at the interest of the
whole Orin-Ekiti community,” the statement
said.