Residents of Yenizue-Gene and Okutukutu communities in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State staged a protest yesterday, blocking the Melford Okilo Road to express their anger over alleged attacks by herdsmen.
The demonstrators, mostly women, decried cases of rape, harassment, and the destruction of their farmlands. For hours, they disrupted traffic by setting up canopies and chairs on the road while displaying cassava tubers and plants they claimed were damaged by cattle.
With no immediate resolution, motorists were forced to find alternative routes around the blockade.
Efforts by the police to persuade the protesters to clear the road proved futile, as the women insisted on the strict enforcement of the state’s anti-open grazing law and the prosecution of the alleged offenders.
Reports indicate that a recent attack involved an elderly woman who was allegedly raped on her farm by herdsmen.
Outraged by the repeated incidents, the women took to the streets as early as 6 a.m. to voice their grievances.
Carrying placards with messages such as “They are raping our women, government help us,” and “Remove cows from our farms,” the protesters called for urgent intervention.
Madam Gift, a mother of three, lamented the difficulties they face, stating, “Many of us have stopped going to our farms because of the constant attacks and destruction caused by herdsmen.”
Similarly, Bonus Wombu, a retired farmer and provost marshal of Oguan, criticized the government’s inaction, saying, “I depend on my farm for survival, but it has been destroyed. The anti-open grazing law was enacted in 2021, yet it is not being enforced. Just recently, a woman was raped on her farm in Amarata. We cannot sit back and allow invaders to take over our land.”
As of press time, Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Alonyenu Idu, was in discussions with the protesters in an effort to resolve the situation.