Enugu Herdsmen’s Attack Will Be Nigeria’s Last – Ekweremadu

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu yesterday said the recent attack on Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State by suspected Fulani herdsmen will be the last of such attacks in any part of then country, The Nation reports.

Ekweremadu, who led other members of the National Assembly from Enugu State to the area, described the damage done to the community as devastating.

Announcing a donation of a transformer to the community, the senator assured that “this will bring an end to what herdsmen are doing”.

He also announced a donation of N2 million to rebuild the two churches the herdsmen allegedly torched during the attack.

Ekweremadu visited the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Enugu, where some of the injured were receiving treatment.

The senator expressed shock over the casualties recorded during the attack.

He said: “This will bring an end to what herdsmen are doing in Nigeria. We shall do our best to ensure that it doesn’t happen again, whether here or elsewhere.

“NEMA (the National Emergency Management Agency) will also visit here tomorrow (Monday) with materials. In the meantime, the National Assembly caucus in our state is donating N2 million to help you start the rebuilding process.

“We are going to ensure that roads here are given clear attention. After four years, the story of Uzo-Uwani will change.

“I will also give you a transformer within the next three to four days.”

In their separate speeches, Patrick Asadu and Dennis Agbo, representing Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South and Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal constituencies, chorused the need to prevent a recurrence.

They noted that the attack on Nimbo would not be taken for granted.

“They have been doing this and going free, but this attack on Nimbo will be the last. The people doing this are not just cattle rearers; they are terrorists, Boko Haram elements. We are not going to take it,” Asadu said.

The parish priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Nimbo, Rev. Patrick Obetta, narrated how God saved him from the invaders.

The cleric told the delegation that 50 herdsmen invaded the church and vandalised it after several attempts to set it ablaze had failed.

The traditional ruler, Igwe John Akor, said his community had been having harrowing experiences in the hands of Fulani herdsmen for decades.

He said sad stories about Fulani herdsmen were regular in his domain.

He urged Ekweremadu and his team to curb the menace so that the residents would enjoy some peace.

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