Delta’s silent war: Herdsmen turn night predators

DDM News

Residents of rural communities in Delta State are raising desperate alarms over growing insecurity in their once peaceful villages.

They claim that suspected herdsmen, who graze cattle during the day, return at night as armed kidnappers and bandits.

Diaspora digital media (DDM) gathered that this disturbing pattern has forced leaders and elders to call on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for urgent intervention.

Their chief demand is the deployment of surveillance helicopters to flush out the criminals hiding in the thick surrounding bushes.

The cries are growing louder from communities in Ughelli North, Udu, Ethiope East, and the Ndokwa axis, where daily life is now ruled by fear.

Community members say farmers are afraid to visit their lands, while travelers avoid rural roads after sundown.

Many of the gunmen, according to eyewitnesses, appear familiar the same faces seen herding cattle by daylight.

By night, they reportedly transform into masked attackers, wielding AK-47 rifles and terrorizing innocent civilians.

A long-standing crisis with deep roots

The herdsmen crisis in Delta State is not new.

For over a decade, Fulani herders have migrated seasonally into the South, seeking greener pastures for their livestock.

Initially, these movements sparked tension mainly due to grazing on farmlands and the destruction of crops.

However, the conflict took a violent turn in recent years, with reports of rape, robbery, and killings.

Many of these violent acts have been blamed on armed elements within the herder communities.

What began as farmer-herder clashes has now morphed into organized rural banditry.

Security analysts believe the expansive forests and creeks in Delta offer perfect cover for these criminal activities.

Government efforts have so far been limited and ineffective in tackling the problem comprehensively.

Victims speak, fear grows

A community elder in Ethiope East, Pa Michael Odiete, shared a painful story.

His son was kidnapped just a short distance from their farmland while returning home.

“He was held for three days before they collected N2 million ransom,” he said.

In Udu, a young trader named Ejiro narrated how her husband disappeared after a trip to the farm.

His body was found days later with signs of torture and bullet wounds.

Cases like these are now too many to count, according to local rights groups.

Fear has driven many residents to abandon their farms and businesses.

Food production is declining, and poverty is on the rise across affected communities.

Vigilantes overwhelmed, police understaffed

With the police spread thin and ill-equipped, communities have turned to local vigilante groups.

These groups, armed with basic rifles and machetes, patrol roads and forests.

But they are no match for the criminals who often use sophisticated weapons and operate with precision.

Many villagers say they no longer trust the state to protect them.

The bush paths and farmlands have now become death traps.

A desperate call to Governor Oborevwori

Leaders are begging Governor Oborevwori to act swiftly and decisively.

They want aerial surveillance to identify and destroy kidnappers’ camps in the forests.

Chief Ikedi Agbontaen from Ndokwa warned that inaction could lead to a full-blown rural insurgency.

He said, “If helicopters don’t start flying soon, we will bury more people every week.”

Security experts also support this strategy, stating that ground efforts are not enough.

Only airpower can fully expose the hideouts in these dense terrains.

A region on the brink

The people of Delta are weary and traumatized.

They are demanding more than promises they want results.

If nothing changes, farming will vanish, villages will empty, and hunger will deepen.

The state government must act now or risk watching its rural heartland collapse under the weight of unchecked terror.

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