Amotekun chases Fulani herdsmen away from Oyo forests

Operatives of the Oyo State Security Network Agency known as “Operation Amotekun” have dislodged some herdsmen from the forest reserves in the state and sent them across the state borders.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of Amotekun in Oyo State, Gen Kunle Togun,

through a statement on Saturday by the Media Officer of the security outfit, that the operation was carried out with the aid of some hunters at the Opara Forest Reserve in the Oke Ogun area of the state.

He said another set of herdsmen were also driven away from the Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme Forest.

The two sets of herdsmen were said to have shown Amotekun the letters through which an Oba and a village head invited them to come and dwell in the state.

He said, ” On the 24th of December some herdsmen were seen at the Opara Forest Reserve in the Oke Ogun area of Oyo State. The attention of the chairman of Amotekun Corps, Gen Kunle Togun ( retd) was drawn to it and Amotekun corps swung into action.

“The Amotekun corps with the assistance of one Prophet Ojoawo, who is the head of the hunters in the state with 40 hunters drove out the herdsmen out of the forest reserve around 2am and they were escorted out of the Saki West to the Orelope Local Government Area of the Oyo State.

“The herdsmen were handed over to the Amotekun corps members at the Orelope who also led them out of their territory and handed them to their members at Olorunsogo in Igbeti area. Amotekun corps at Igbeti made sure they were escorted out of the Oyo State boundary.”

Togun said the herdsmen were interrogated and they said one ‘Baale'(village head) in the area invited them to the state and proved this by showing a letter of invitation purportedly written by the ‘Baale.’

“Another set of the herdsmen were sighted at OYSADEP Forest Reserves, they too produced evidence of invitation by one of the Oyo Obas and they too were also driven out of the forest and of the state boundary.”