FULANI HERDSMEN CREATE PANIC ...In Asante Akim North (PAGE 38)

FULANI herdsmen and their animals are said to be visiting mayhem on communities in the Asante Akim North section of the Afram Plains, creating fear and panic among the people in the vast agricultural area.
Allegations of rape, attacks on innocent farmers and the destruction of the environment have been linked with activities of the herdsmen and the local authorities are planning to involve the military to help contain the situation.
The Asante Akim North Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Osei Bonsu, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on the activities of the Fulani herdsmen, described the situation as terrifying.
“I have spoken with the Eastern Regional Minister who has promised to move the military to the area to save lives and property,” he stated.
He said the lands that were being destroyed by the herdsmen and their cattle were the fertile ones and so if nothing was done about it, it could have disastrous consequences on the economy of the area and that of the nation.
While rampaging herds of cattle were destroying several hectares of farms, creating social and economic problems in the affected communities, farmers who dared challenge the herdsmen over the destruction of their farms were most often attacked by the herdsmen, he said.
Recently, two men, whose names were only given as Peter and Kofi Pee, were attacked with deadly implements at Bebuso, one of the affected communities. They sustained multiple wounds, with Peter having his hand severed with a sharp machete.
Presently, the herdsmen and their cattle have occupied communities, including Nso Nyame Ye, Bebuso, Nyamebekyere, Mankala, Oseikrom, Mpesempese, Mantukwa, Kwame Addo, Kowireso, Oseikrom, among others.
Against the backdrop of the constant attacks and threats to the people, a section of the people in Agogo had staged a massive demonstration in the town to draw the attention of the authorities to the destructive activities of the herdsmen.
At the end of the demonstration organised by a group calling itself the Concerned Group of Agogo Citizens, a petition was read to the press.
The Secretary of the group, Mr Yaw Brako, said the cattle often defecated in the streams that served as sources of drinking water in the area.
According to him, the Bebome Clinic, which served several communities, had virtually closed down as a result of the insecurity posed by the Fulanis and their cattle.
He said farm produce such as yams, maize, plantain, beans, among several others, had been destroyed.
Mr Brako indicated that the brutalities meted out by the Fulani herdsmen to females and schoolchildren had resulted in the virtual collapse of the school at Abrewapon, one of the towns in the area.
“They possess sophisticated weapons and shoot at random, terrorising the people,” he said.
He noted that the presence of the herdsmen had generally halted economic activities and created insecurity in the villages.