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Tension has gripped the oil-rich Agwa community following relentless attacks by heavily armed Fulani herdsmen, who have forcefully seized farmlands and terrorized major roads.
The violence escalated dramatically on Wednesday, June 4th, resulting in the killing of at least five locals with several others wounded during an invasion.
Three people were also kidnapped same day and remain in captivity.
Reliable community sources confirm that since January 2025, Fulani herdsmen operating in the area have kidnapped more than 20 persons and killed at least six.
Victims are often released only after exorbitant ransoms are paid.
The June 4th violence began in Umuekpu town, Mbano autonomous community, where herdsmen shot dead one young man and injured others, including the victim’s elder brother. They then moved to Okwu Ogbaku road, killing four more people, including a young woman and commercial motorcycle (Okada) riders conducting their daily businesses.
This incident reflects a previous brutal attack just two weeks ago, on Umuekpu and Obeakuma towns, where a pregnant woman was among those mercilessly shot; survivors remain hospitalized.
Community sources describe years of rampant terror and harassment of locals.
Herdsmen routinely blockade key roads – including Amakohia Ubi-Agwa, Obibi Ogbaku-Agwa, Okwu Ogbaku-Agwa, and Ejemekwuru-Agwa – using their cattle to force vehicles and motorcycles to slow or stop.
This tactic facilitates kidnappings, robberies, attacks, and alleged rapes of women who they take into the bush.
These Fulani herdsmen are known to wield AK-47 rifles and machetes.
The impact is devastating. Farmers, terrified of attack or abduction, have abandoned their lands, which the herdsmen have occupied and whose crops they destroy. This has plunged the community into “untold hardship and hunger,” according to the traditional ruler.
Herdsmen also reportedly shoot sporadically at night to intimidate residents and allow cattle to destroy crops and economic trees in residential compounds, forcing some to flee their homes.
“The youths cannot continue to tolerate this,” warned an eyewitness, expressing widespread fear of an imminent violent clash. “The government and the security agencies should come and drive them out of Agwa and its neighborhood. That will be the only solution to the problem.”
HRH Eze Sylvester Onuegbu, traditional ruler of Mbano Agwa, condemned the herdsmen’s actions “in strong terms,” confirming many innocent lives lost and the community’s inability to farm. He disclosed that the matter has been reported repeatedly to the State and Local Governments, Police, DSS, and other security agencies, and even to the Hausa community leadership.
The Agwa Central Union (ACU) also issued a strong condemnation on Thursday, demanding the herdsmen not only cease their attacks but leave Agwa land immediately. They joined calls for urgent intervention by Governor Hope Uzodimma, Oguta LGA Chairman Hon. Ifeanyi Nnani, the Nigerian Army, DSS, Police, and all relevant security agencies to drive the herdsmen out before the situation spirals out of control.
