The Oodua Peoples Congress and the Agbekoya Farmers Association have agreed to provide adequate security in Yorubaland by protecting farmers and their farms from herdsmen attacks. This comes after an attack on the farm of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ondo State penultimate Sunday.
Leaders of the OPC and the Agbekoya across the South West, in separate interviews told Punch, that they had begun to mobilise their members as a proactive measure against the onslaught of Fulani herdsmen. The National Publicity Secretary of the Agbekoya Farmers Association, Chief Olatunji Bandele, said as many as 1,000 of his members had already been drafted.
Bandele said, "We have established a vigilance group and it will take off with 1,000 men any moment from now. We are training others who will join later. The vigilantes, who would be on oath, will be deployed in to all the nooks and crannies of Yorubaland. "Ex- security personnel, who are now our members, are handling the training. Agbekoya from inception was established to fight for human rights. We fought for the rights of farmers during the time of the late Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo in the old Western Region.
"Members of our vigilance group can carry arms; we will get licences for their guns. In any case, we are not solely depending on ammunition. Our forefathers didn't fight with sophisticated weapons. We can fight without modern arms”The Ondo State chapter of the OPC also vowed to stop the activities of the Fulani herdsmen who are terrorising some farmers in the state.
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