Mr Okeke Nkemjika of Amaeze Community in the Ivo local government area of Ebonyi State, has been left critically injured over deep matchete cuts inflicted on him by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
The incident, which occurred on Sunday causes apprehension in the community.
The victim, who hails from Lolopa community in Abịa State but resides in the community, was reportedly attacked by the herdsmen at a palm plantation in the community where he was working as the plantation keeper.
A community leader, Egwu Chibueze, told SaharaReporters that the herdsmen had been terrorising the community for some time now.
He said that the herdsmen numbering about five had been spotted on Saturday night around a quarry located in the community.
“In the early hours of today, I got a call from the security officer at Yitter Quarry located at the former Setraco site at Umbro Ajanyim. He was complaining that he noticed the movement of five herdsmen with rifles and matchetes along the farm area as he came out in the night to go round the company,” he said.
Egwu said he mobilised the youths and the police to go in search of the herdsmen.
He said that as they were heading towards the factory they saw two boys coming back from farm with palm nuts on their heads who told them they just spotted the herdsmen entering the community.
According to him, when they moved towards the location but the herdsmen on sighting them fired gunshots in the air intermittently to scare the villagers away.
He said the herdsmen ran into Nkemjika at a palm plantation and attacked him with their matchetes.
When we got there, we saw that the herdsmen had attacked two men who came to carry palm nuts from the farm and they butchered one Okeke Nkemjika, the farm settlement keeper from Lokpa.
Egwu noted that the victim, who received deep matchete cuts on his back and arm was currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
