Four persons have been reported dead after an attack by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, in Mgbuji community, Isi-Uzo local government area of Enugu State.
Mgbuji, in Eha-Amufu, is one of the communities in the area that have suffered series of attacks by herdsmen.
Community sources disclosed that the victims were attacked on their farms.
A community leader, Ogenyi Samuel, had confirmed that three bodies were initially recovered.
While providing an update on Tuesday, he said one more dead body had been recovered, bringing the tally to four.
He said the victim had been identified as Izuchukwu Uzu.
Samuel provided the names of those whose bodies were recovered on Monday as Daniel Ogbodo, Isaiah Odo, and one other person, whose father’s name is Emmanuel Eze.
Samuel lamented that the community members are tired and despondent due to the attacks and killings.
“We are tired and despondent. The government only mobilises security agents after every attack to collect corpses, but they don’t do anything to prevent the attacks or engage the assailants,”; Samuel said.
He, however, noted that Izuchukwu’s corpse had been deposited in the morgue.
Another community leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier confirmed the attack, reporting that three bodies had been recovered and placed in the morgue.
He also noted that one individual was missing, prompting the launch of a search effort.
The community leader expressed frustration, saying, “Our people are already tired and despondent because you don’t know when the assailants will come. It’s like a guerrilla war now.
“We have a large farm concentration, and when you think you have secured one side, the assailants will launch an attack through another area.”;
According to him, several people would have been killed if the gunshots had penetrated their bodies.
He said, “It is true that three people were killed yesterday, being Monday, in Mgbuji. The victims went to their farms and were attacked and killed.
“One person is still missing as we speak. A search party has been launched since last night. Three corpses have been recovered and are already deposited in the morgue.
“Among those killed is one man called Isaiah in Otu-Mgbuji. I don’t know the names of the other two, but one is the son of Emmanuel Ogbodo.
“Last Friday, the herders had attacked another person on the same farm, although he escaped, they took his motorcycle.
“His escape was just a miracle because they had already caught and macheted him.
“The herdsmen are still occupying the settlements and launching attacks from there on the farmers.
“Our local government chairman, Mr. Obiora Obeagu, is also not helping the matter.
“The soldiers and policemen who were already in Eha-Amufu, who accepted that they would be combing the bushes periodically, the Council Chairman is not helping them by giving them fuel to go there. The people are tired, and they have resigned their fate to God,”; the source claimed.
“What is now happening is that after the people have been killed, the government will start mobilising security personnel to go and carry their corpses,”; he added.
The attack occurred just three months after women from seven autonomous communities in Eha-Amufu staged a protest against the relentless assaults by herdsmen, which have led to the deaths of hundreds of farmers and widespread sexual violence against women since 2021.
Attempts to obtain a response from Council Chairman Obiora Obeagu regarding the recent attack proved unsuccessful.
The Enugu State Police Command is also yet to release an official statement on the incident.
