Gunmen Murder Farmer In Edo

A middle-aged man, identified as Danjuma Emokpaire, was on Friday killed by unknown gunmen on his farm at Ubune-Ivbiaro Community in Owan-East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Naija News learned that the deceased was attacked by the armed men while leaving the farm after the day’s work.

A resident, who spoke to PUNCH on anonymity, said Emokpaire told him and others that he was going to the farm on Friday to plant yam seedlings.

However, they became worried when the deceased was not seen at home on Saturday morning, and they launched a search and discovered him dead at his farm.

The resident said, “There was heavy rainfall on Friday night, so people did not know if he returned from the farm or not. But this (Saturday) morning, when he was not seen around, some persons went to his house and found it locked from the outside.

“So, we went in search for him at the farm and unfortunately, we found him dead. What we see around the scene of the incident indicated that he was attack and kill while on his motorcycle. There was no sign of struggle between him and his assailants.

“The motorbike was damaged, his cutlass and mobile phone were taken away by the murderers. The incident has been reported to the Afuze Divisional Police, and some officers were sent to the community who went with us to the farm.”

Also speaking, a member of the vigilante group in the community, Abdul Saliu Emokpaire, who is a family member of the deceased, said the corpse had been brought home for burial in accordance with Islamic rites.

Emokpaire called on the security agencies and the Edo State Government to come to the aid of the community as residents of the state are now afraid to go to the farm over fear of being attacked or killed by hoodlums.

He said, “We call on security agencies in the state and Governor Godwin Obaseki to come to our aid. We mourning one of our illustrious sons whose life was cut short by evil men.

“This is farming season, and this is the time the people of the community who are predominantly farmers are preparing their lands for cultivation. Fears have gripped the community and we are now afraid to go to our various farms.”

Confirming the incident, a senior police officer in the Afuze Divisional Police Headquarters, who preferred anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, said officers had been drafted to the community and visited the crime scene.

He also said that the officers obtained the necessary information for investigations.