Palpable tension has gripped residents of Isaba-Ekiti in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State following the killing of two farmers by suspected herdsmen.

It was gathered that the gruesome incident occurred on Friday evening at a farmstead, where the farmers were said to have had an altercation with the herders and escalated to bloodshed.

A resident of the town confirmed that one of the victims was popularly known as Jisoro while the other was a security guard with a construction company.

The assailants were said to have fled the area after killing the victims.

Speaking on the incident, Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, Sunday Abutu, said the crisis between the farmers and herders led to the death of the two persons.

Abutu stated that it was a confrontation between the farmers and people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen called Bororo, who were alleged to have been terrorising the Ipao-Oke/Ako-Irele axis of the council area.

Abutu added that the deceased’s corpses have been recovered and deposited in the morgue at Ikole General Hospital.

He said: “There was a crisis between some farmers and Bororo herders. In the process, there were casualties.

“The police were contacted and operatives have been deployed to that axis to maintain peace.

“Meanwhile, investigation has already commenced to unravel the reason for the crisis and to ensure that culprits are brought to book.

“Corpses of the victims had already been deposited in the morgue.”

Abutu said the Police Commissioner, Ekiti Command, Babatunde Mobayo, called for calm, saying his men are on the trail of the suspected killers.

Commander of Amotekun Corps in Ekiti State, Joe Komolafe, said the victims were declared missing on Friday, having gone to the farm and failed to return home, which fueled speculation that something terrible must have happened to them.

Akomolafe said the incident was reported to the police and Amotekun, who assembled their operatives and went to their farm where the victims were found dead.

“Upon inquiry, we learnt that the victims fought with the Bororo herders for coming to harvest Bee’s honey in their farms on Wednesday, which degenerated to exchange of fisticuffs.

“In a reprisal attack, the Bororo herders were said to have come back to the farm again on Friday and shot the two men dead.”

The Nation