The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has raised an alarm over alleged invasion of about 300 suspected Fulani herdsmen in Maje, Soka area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The OPC Coordinator in Oyo, Mr Rotimi Olumo, told PUNCH that residents of the area alerted him about the invasion, and he went there and saw the three luxury buses that brought the Fulani herdsmen to the area.
Olumo said he was surprised to see a large number of Fulani people in the area, saying the area is not Sabo – a popular settlement for northerners.
The residents, who suspected that the herdsmen had a suspicious mission in the area, were said to have prevented them from disembarking from the vehicles.
The OPC coordinator said he alerted the police from Sanyo Police Station who came and took the herdsmen and buses to their station.
“I received a series of calls this morning that some luxury buses brought some Fulani and Bororo herdsmen numbering about 300 to the area. They came around 07 am today. I went to the place and discovered that all the passengers in the vehicles are Fulani and Bororo.
“There is no Igbo, no Yoruba among them. This made the people suspicious and we have to be vigilant because of the security situation all over the country. We asked them questions but they refused to disclose their destination. So, we invited the police to come and see them.
“Policemen came from Sanyo Police Station and their response was very prompt. They took the buses to their station and parked them there before I left. One of the Fulani people came down to talk with the police but I didn’t know what they discussed. But everybody must be vigilant,” he said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi, did not pick the phone and was yet to respond to the text message sent to him on this matter.
KanyiDaily had reported how suspected Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed 19 persons and injured 31 others during a fresh attack on Kukum Daji Village in Kaduna State.
