Former Secretary to the Federal Government and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae, has said he would rely on God for protection following repeated attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen on his farm in Akure, Ondo State.
In a brief chat with one of our correspondents on Saturday, Falae stated that he did not know why the herdsmen attacked his farm again.
It was reported on Friday that the herdsmen attacked the farm of the SDP chieftain and killed a security guard said to be a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress.
The guard, Ayodele Ige, was identified as Coordinator of the OPC in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The elder statesman was said to have engaged the services of the OPC to guard the farm.
“I do not know what is happening. It’s worrisome. May God deliver us,” he said in a telephone conversation with our correspondent.
When asked if he would seek the assistance of the police or would like to make a statement on the issue, Falae stated, “I am not going to say anything. I will just rely on God (for protection).”
Falae was abducted in the farm by some herdsmen in September last year and was released three days later after payment of ransom.
He was made to trek for 15 kilometres before he was picked up by the police in Owo, several kilometres away from Akure.
Meanwhile, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, OPC has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and security agencies to check the killings and attacks by Fulani herdsmen across the country.
The OPC warned that people may resort to self-defence if the Federal Government fails to protect them from attacks by Fulani herdsmen.
The Coordinator, OPC, Ondo State, Mr. Pius Ogunsanya, in a statement on Saturday, berated security agencies for not checking the continued killings of people by herdsmen across the country.
“And let the President (Muhammadu Buhari) know that the killings in Agatuland (in Benue State) and other parts of the country cannot continue forever. It is only a matter of time before the people stand up to defend themselves,” he added.
He stated that Ige’s murder would not be allowed to be swept under the carpet “like several other innocent people killed across the country by Fulani herdsmen.”
Ogunsanya added, “The killing of one our members by Fulani herdsmen in Chief Olu Falae’s farm in the outskirt of Akure, Ondo State, has once again brought to the fore the danger posed by the herdsmen to their peace-loving host communities.
“It is strange that the security agencies have found it difficult to put an end to these wicked acts by Fulani herdsmen despite repeated cases of killings and arson against them from all over the country. The story is the same from Enugu to Edo, Akokoland to Oke-Ogun and other parts of the country.”
