Fulani herdsman escapes death in Lagos community

A Fulani herds­man, Mumini, 31, escaped death by the whis­kers when one Sunday Okoroboh, a farmer in Ogombo area of Ajah, a rural community in Lagos State, threw a spear with five sharp iron spikes at him in a feat of anger. Mumini who hails from Kwara State incurred the wrath of the farmer when he led his herd of cattle to graze in the cassava farm of Okoroboh, and in the process destroyed the grow­ing cassava crop as the cattle marched through the farm.

Upon seeing the extent of damage done to his cassava crop, which he had laboured so much to nurture with the hope of getting a good harvest, Oko­roboh allegedly flew into a rage, picked up the spike and hauled it at Mumini, but narrowly missed it, hitting him in the centre of his back, which could have result­ed to death. Yet the five-spiked spear hit Mumini on the side of his back, inflicting serious injury on him.

The impact of his elder broth­er’s near death experience, which he witnessed, left Bello in shock, as Sunday Sun learnt.

Mumini who spoke with our reporter at the hospital where he was rushed for treatment recounted how he came face-to-face with death. He said:

 “The man (Okoroboh) told my young­er brother not to rear our cattle anywhere near his farmland. To drive home his warning, he chased him away with a cutlass. My brother came to inform me. So I went to find out what actu­ally happened. That was when he attacked me with the spear. When I saw the spear, I thought it was a tool for fishing. Fortu­nately, he stabbed me at the side of my back otherwise I would have died instantly.

Following a report to the police, Okoroboh was arrested. In the course of investigation, he told the policemen attached to the State Criminal Investigations Department, Yaba, Lagos, that on several occasion, farmers in the area had complained over invasion of their farmlands by herdsmen.

In the instant case, he said that when the two brothers brought their herd of cattle to his farm, he told them to move their cattle away from his farm. They ignored him. This prompted an argument. In the ensuing alter­cation, he acted in self-defence when they attacked him.

Meanwhile Sunday Sun learnt from a source that inves­tigation was still going on in the matter, assuring that the suspect would eventually be arraigned in court.