Women from Ugwuleshi autonomous community in Awgu Local Government Area, Enugu State, staged a protest at the palace of their traditional ruler, Igwe Godwin Nwobi, decrying alleged destruction of farmlands, sexual violence, and killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen. The demonstrators, carrying placards and green leaves, highlighted widespread hunger due to their inability to access farms, citing the destruction of rice, cassava, and yam crops by cattle.
The protest also demanded the release of town union President General Aron Chidi and Chief Security Officer Kingsley Ilo, arrested last week over the death of a herder near the community’s border with Ebonyi and Abia states. Women spokesperson Mrs. Felicia Okompi revealed millions in agricultural losses and recounted gruesome murders, including Onyeka Chukwu and Chidozie Friday in 2023, whose mutilated bodies were found on their farms. Survivors like Mrs. Ngozika Okolie and her daughter Ukamaka, who sustained machete wounds defending their cassava farm, and Victor Okafor, who lost a finger, displayed scars as evidence of attacks.
Igwe Nwobi condemned the persistent violence, urging the Inspector General of Police to intervene as residents live in “fear and confusion.” Awgu Local Council Chairman Uche Okolo, through aide Tochukwu Chukwu, assured efforts to restore peace, noting the council covered medical bills for victims and clarifying that arrests were part of investigations into the herder’s death. The community continues to plead for government action to safeguard their livelihoods and security.
