Operatives from the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as the Amotekun Corps, clashed violently with suspected herdsmen in Sango, Igoba, Akure, over the weekend.
Reports indicate that the clash occurred as the Amotekun operatives were enforcing the state’s anti-open grazing law. During the confrontation, several operatives sustained severe machete wounds, causing a prolonged disruption of vehicular traffic on the Ado-Akure road.
The operatives had responded to distress calls from local farmers who reported that herders’ cattle were destroying their farmlands and crops. Upon arrival, the operatives encountered over 120 cows on the farms without any herders present. While moving the cows off the farms, the operatives were ambushed by armed Fulani herdsmen in the Sango area, who attacked them with stones, bottles, cutlasses, and guns.
Following orders from the state headquarters, the Amotekun corps retreated, but the assailants continued their assault, even throwing stones and bottles onto the main road. The attackers eventually overpowered one Amotekun officer, leaving him in a coma as they attempted to disarm the operatives. In response, the Amotekun officers fired shots into the air to disperse the attackers and retreat to their base.
The anti-open grazing law, signed by the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on August 13, 2021, prohibits the open grazing of animals across the state. Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Amotekun Corps, Jimoh Adeniken, commended the operatives for their bravery and determination in managing the volatile situation despite the violence they faced.