Court grants bail to detained farmers over clash with herdsmen

A magistrate’s court sitting in Umuahia, at the weekend, granted bail to the 76 local farmers of Ugwuleshi autonomous community in Awgu, Enugu State, who had been in detention after a clash with Fulani herdsmen operating in the area.

The farmers had been arrested, arraigned and remanded at Umuahia prison on March 18, following allegations of arson and possession of firearms, by
“men in military uniform,” who had stormed the community in three trailers, soon after the clash.

It was celebration all over the town as the farmers regained their freedom. Speaking shortly after receiving the freed farmers, the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Godwin Nwobi, commended the efforts of the state governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, towards their release.

While appreciating that they came home safely, he
appealed to the Federal Government to find lasting solution to the challenges being encountered between the nomadic Fulani/Hausa herdsmen and
indigenous farmers.

The traditional ruler noted that the governor’s intervention made it possible for the people to be granted bail.Also sharing in the celebration, the member representing Awgu South Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Nelson Uduji, said they went through arduous task in securing bail for the farmers and expressed gratitude to Ugwuanyi, and other political leaders from the area for their intervention.

A farmer from the community, Edwin Okeke, also tasked both the Federal Government and state government to proffer solution to the problem, lamenting that he took a loan to plant about 7 hectares of cassava, which he said was destroyed by the herdsmen.