In a bold stand against encroachment and intimidation, 95-year-old Pa Uhurhemue Erhiahwe, traditional head of Egbo-Kokori community in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, has narrated how he rejected a lucrative bribe offered by Fulani herdsmen seeking access to community farmlands.
Speaking to Vanguard’s Niger Delta Voice (NDV), the respected elder said the herders approached him in January with a gift of cows and a cash offer of N10 million in a bid to gain settlement rights. According to him, the community had suffered enough—farmlands destroyed, women reportedly assaulted in the bushes, and villagers chased by weapon-wielding herders.
“We are farmers. That is our only source of survival. They destroy our crops daily,” he lamented.
Refusing to compromise the future of his people for personal gain, Pa Erhiahwe stood his ground. Despite his rejection, the herders allegedly attempted to force their way into the farmlands, prompting the community to seek police intervention. Officers at the Isiokolo Police Division facilitated an undertaking where the herders agreed to vacate the area in April of the previous year.
However, tensions flared again recently when the herders returned, petitioning the Ughelli Police Area Command over missing cattle—an allegation Pa Erhiahwe insists is false and retaliatory.
“As the community leader, they approached me to bribe me with cows and N10 million, but I refused and told them that this is our home; I cannot, because of greed, destroy it. I said that even if I am given a billion naira, I won’t accept it because where you are staying is where you must repair. After I refused, they tried to use force, and we insisted they must leave. After they left, they returned yet again. We went to the police in Isiokolo community because we thought it was time to involve them, and they wrote an undertaking to leave in April of last year.
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