Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen on Saturday, abducted a female farmer in Abavo, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.
The herdsmen also inflicted severe injuries on three members of the community, who were members of the vigilante group set up to provide security to farmers in the community.
The President General of the Abavo community, Pastor Justin Onyeibe, said that the kidnapped woman and her husband were working on their farmland when the herdsmen struck.
He said, “The husband and the wife were on the farm when they sighted the herdsmen, so they had to run for their dear lives. Unfortunately, the woman was not able to run, it was only the man who outran them, so they took the woman.
“The vigilante group was in the bush searching for them, but somehow, they attacked our vigilante people. As l am talking to you, one of them has been referred to a hospital in Asaba.”
“The other two were taken to another medical facility. Every day, they (the vigilante) are in the bush from morning to evening, that is why in the last six months we have not heard of any attack.”
A source who craved anonymity said, “In the wake of the incessant herdsmen attacks, each of the 13 quarters of Abavo had to constitute different vigilante groups which were mandated to man the various farms.
“Just yesterday (Saturday), they attacked the ones that were manning the bushes in Oyoko quarters. At the end of the day, they injured three vigilante members,” the source said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the State Command, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed the attack on Sunday.
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