Edo community bans sale, consumption of beef over herdsmen’s atrocities

The Elelu village in Erah community in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State have banned the sale and consumption of beef in the community.

The harsh decision was informed by the alleged recurrent kidnapping and killings of their kinsmen by suspected herdsmen.

Protesting the atrocious criminal acts of the herdsmen the residents, who trooped out en masse, cutting across various age groups and bearing loads on their heads, also threatened to relocate to Edo State Government House safety if the state government fails to urgently address their plight and make their area safe.

They urged the state government to come to their rescue from the incessant attacks by suspected herdsmen who freely invaded their farmlands and kidnapped their fathers, husbands and children in regular basis.

According to them, seven persons in the community have been kidnapped and killed in a fortnight.

Fred Enaikhe Aleburu the spokesperson of the concerned community leaders, youth representatives and vigilante leaders clarified that the protest was also to mourn and honour the lives of their fallen heroes killed by suspected kidnappers

He identified the victims as Edekin Ighalo, Abdullahi and Victor Ogedengbe, a Vigilante commander, who lost lost their lives while defending the community.

“They shielded our mothers, our children, and our farmlands and for their sacrifice, they were murdered in cold blood,” Aleburu said.

“As we speak, the body of Victor Ogedengbe still lies in the mortuary. Yet the violence continues.

“In just the past two weeks, seven of our children have been kidnapped, with one still in captivity as we speak.

“Our forests have been turned into dens of terror, criminal strongholds where ransom is demanded and innocent victims are kept under inhumane conditions.

“Our mothers can no longer go to the farm. Our youth are hunted. Our elderly live in fear. The lands that once sustained us now lie in waste and silence.

“This is not just insecurity, this is a deliberate war on our survival. This is a slow genocide.

“We are also here to protest hunger. Our people now suffer because they cannot farm. Our markets are empty. Our homes are filled with helplessness.

“What was once a self-sufficient and productive community is now battling starvation and fear.

“And so, today, we rise to say with one voice that “Enough Is Enough”, he lamented.

Aleburu charged the government to live up to its constitutional responsibility to protect its citizens, adding that the community demanded immediate establishment of permanent security checkpoints on all roads and entry points, leading into and out of Erah.

They also want a full-scale investigation and completely evicting all criminal terrorist elements from the community.

“A sustained and visible security presence across our villages, to ensure long-term peace and protection,” Aleburu further said .

“Emergency intervention to address food insecurity, including support for displaced farmers and restoration of safe farming activities.

“If our villages are no longer safe, we will sleep at the doorstep of leadership until we are heard and protected. Our lives are not negotiable.

“Furthermore, as a solemn response to our collective suffering and to honor our fallen defenders, the people of Erah hereby declare a permanent ban on the consumption and the sale of beef in our community.

“The killer herdsmen who hide behind cattle have taken too much from us. Our lives, our food, our peace. We will not continue to support a system built on our blood and tears.”

Other speakers lamented the plight of the people and demanded government and security presence in the area.

Blessing Ogedegbe, wife to Victor Ogedenge, one of the deceased, expressed her pain that her slain husband’s corpse is still in the mortuary since he was killed in February 2025. She pleaded with the government to give her a job to enable her cater for her children.

According to Mrs Eunice Ighalo, wife of Ighalo: ”We can no longer go to the farm or river and we are now seriously living in hunger and poverty, that is why we decided that we will go to Edo State Government House to protest there.”