From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Suspected armed herdsmen have killed four farmers in Mgbuji, an autonomous community in Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The latest incident was confirmed on Tuesday, June 10, following the recovery of a missing farmer’s corpse, bringing the death toll from Monday’s attack to four.
Three farmers were attacked and killed on Monday, June 9, 2025, while one individual was declared missing. According to community sources, the victims were ambushed and killed on their farms.
A community leader, Samuel Ogenyi, revealed that the fourth victim was found on Tuesday morning. He identified the deceased as Izuchukwu Uzu, noting that the other victims killed on Monday were Daniel Ogbodo, Isaiah Odo, and another man identified only as the son of Emmanuel Eze.
Samuel decried the recurring attacks and the government’s lack of proactive measures: “We are tired and despondent. The government only mobilises security agents after every attack to collect corpses, but they don’t do anything to prevent the attacks or engage the assailants,” he said.
He added that Izuchukwu’s body had been deposited at the morgue.
Another community leader, who spoke anonymously on Monday, confirmed the attack and the recovery of three corpses, with a search party launched to find the missing person: “Our people are already tired and despondent because you don’t know when the assailants will come. It’s like a guerrilla war now. We have a large farm concentration, and when you think you have secured one side, the assailants will launch an attack through another area,” he said.
He noted that more people could have died if the gunshots had penetrated their bodies: “It is true that three people were killed yesterday, being Monday, in Mgbuji. The victims went to their farms and were attacked and killed. One person is still missing as we speak. A search party has been launched since last night. Three corpses have been recovered and are already deposited in the morgue.
“Among those killed is one man called Isaiah in Otu-Mgbuji. I don’t know the names of the other two, but one is the son of Emmanuel Ogbodo. Last Friday, the herders had attacked another person on the same farm. Although he escaped, they took his motorcycle. His escape was just a miracle because they had already caught and macheted him,” he said.
The leader criticised the government’s failure to follow through on promises made after women from seven autonomous communities protested against herdsmen attacks in March: “Since the government promised to send 150 personnel comprising the military, police, DSS, Air Force, and Civil Defence to the farm to be combing the area after the women protested in March, about three months now, nobody has gone to that place.
“The herdsmen are still occupying the settlements and launching attacks from there on the farmers,” he said.
The Enugu State Police Command has not issued an official statement on the incident. Efforts to contact the Command’s spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone were not answered.
