Tension is rising in Obokofia, a community in Ohaji/Egbema local council of Imo State, as herdsmen were said to have vowed to remain in the community’s lands after the deadline to vacate.

A report this morning byVanguardsaid that the herdsmen on “shot sporadically into the air to scare community people and to resist the ultimatum given them to leave the community.”

The report said that tension has engulfed Obokofia community following the insistence of the herdsmen to remain on the community’s lands despite the intervention of the Ohaji/Egbema Transition Committee chairman, Damian Ezeru. “Tension was worsened after a security meeting scheduled for yesterday could not take place as the TC chairman was said to be in an official meeting alongside his colleagues with the governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha. It was learned that the security council meeting will now hold today,” the report said.

Vanguardquoted an unnamed source from the community as saying: “The herdsmen are still in the community. They have not left. They are prepared for us but we don’t want to fight them. We want peace in our land. I want to ask, how can somebody come to your land and you tell him to leave and that person starts threatening to kill you?

“What sort of intimidation is this? We want them to move out of our farmlands. This is very bad. Do they want us to suffer as a result of lack of food to eat? This is too much. We want them to stop. We can’t continue like this.”

The paper said that when contacted, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Steve Osuji, replied: “On the herders and farmers crisis, we just appeal to people to respect each other’s rights. Don’t invade people’s farms and destroy them. We will continue to engage the leadership of Hausa community in the state to advise their people to live peacefully with their host communities.”