By Osahon Osahon
The Edo State Police Command on Tuesday described as fake and misleading the trending video of alleged Fulani herdsmen attack along the Benin-Lagos Expressway where no fewer than five persons were allegedly killed and others injured.
A video of suspected Fulani herdsmen went viral on Tuesday morning alleging that herdsmen had gone on rampage expressway killing several travellers unchallenged.
But reacting to the video which has resulted to panic on the highway, the police said the video in circulation on the social media was not only fake but mischievous, misleading and maliciously fabricated, in an attempt to incite the public against the police.
The command in a statement signed by its spokesman, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, explained that the said video was of youths protesting the killing of a farmer by herdsmen last week.
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It read, “The attention of the Edo State Command, has been drawn to a totally unfounded, mischievous, misleading and maliciously fabricated video, that has completely gone viral on the social media, that Fulani Herdsmen blocked the Benin-Lagos Expressway and killed five people by Ugbogui village, Edo State.
“This Jung (sic) Journalism is not only false, but dangerous and is an attempt by the mischief makers to incite the Public against the Police.
“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the record straight, on the 18th of February, 2020, at about 2010 hours, one John Owen and Godwin Abubu of Ugbogui Village, under Iguobasuwa Divisional Headquarters in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State, reported that at about 1600 hours of date, some criminal Fulani herdsmen numbering about 10, invaded their farms and kidnapped one Adebayo Abubu and took him into bush.
“Immediately, the Divisional Police Officer mobilized his operatives and recovered a cutlass suspected to be that of the kidnappers.
“On the 22nd of February, 2020, at about 1045 hours, three men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen were arrested by the police, in connection with the death of the victim, through a credible intelligence.
“The police took the three suspects and Mr. Adebayo’s family to the farm where his body was found and recovered. On their way taking the corpse to the mortuary, some Ugbgui youths intercepted the police, hijacked the corpse and laid it down on the Benin-Lagos expressway, thereby causing a terrible traffic for several hours.”
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The statement added that it took the interventions of the police, the Nigerian Army and the elders of Ugbogui to retrieve Mr. Adebayo Abubu’s dead body from the youths and later deposited it at an undisclosed mortuary, and normalcy restored on the expressway.
The statement urged the general public to disregard the trending video.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Polic, CP Lawan Tanko Jimeta, has ordered full scale investigation into the murder case of late Mr. Adebayo Abubu, vowing that the outcomes would be made available to the public.
