Man’s whereabout unknown after repeated herdsmen attack

A 43year-old man, Mr. Dada Pascal Omotayo is reportedly said to have fled to an unknown destination after alleged repeated attacks by some suspected Fulani herdsmen on his house and community, Alagada village in Obafemi-Owode local government area of Ogun.

According to our Correspondent’s findings, Mr Dada Pascal Omotayo was said to have reported at the police station early hours of March 23, 2021 to lodge complaint about threat to his life by unknown people.

He was said to have reported that, some yet-to-be identified gunmen laid ambush for him at the early hours of the fateful day and tried to attack him while going to work in his private car, but narrowly escaped.

A family source who did not want his name in print, said, the unknown assailants with anonymous letters first attacked the victim’s residence on November 3, 2020, destroyed lock to his house gate and broke part of the fence to gain access into Mr. Dada’s compound.

The source added that, the incident occurred barely two weeks Omotayo revealed to the local vigilantes the hideout of the killer Fulani herdsmen in the community.

It would be recalled that, the Fulani herdsmen were chased away from their settlement in Igangan, under Ibarapa local government area of Oyo state by the popular activist, Sunday Adeyemo fondly called Sunday Igboho.

After being chased away, the herdsmen relocated to many South West states including Ogun state.

The family source claimed that, the attack may not be unconnected to the fact that Omotayo had revealed the hideout of the Fulani herdsmen in Alagada village to the local vigilante.

The herdsmen were said to have allegedly sworn to wipe out Omotayo and his entire family whenever they catch up with him

According to the police, the herdsmen had written different threat letters to the victim, vowing to deal with him for exposing them to local vigilantes and community chiefs.

On July 23, 2021, the unknown assailants stormed the private residence of the victim again, shooting sporadically, but luckily, the victim was said not to be at home.

When our reporter visited the scene, it was observed that, the whole building was ransacked with some valuable belongings of the victim damaged beyond repair.

Confirming the attacks, a High Chief in the community, who declined to mention his name for fear of being subject of attack by the alleged killer herdsmen, said the community regretted the incident and has reported the case to the police to beef up security around the community.

According to him, “I’m sorry, I may not be able to mention my name because they might come after me too. But the truth of the matter is, these people are deadly, what we have established is that, they are the Fulani herdsmen because the local vigilantes busted their hideout after Omotayo gave the piece of information to the community head.

“But we have reported the case to the police and I believe the victim too must have made his situation known to the authority concerned. We pray God replenish his loss.”

Meanwhile, following the two separate attacks, the 43year-old father of three has reportedly disappeared into the thin air as no one currently knows his whereabout.

When contacted, the anonymous family member hinted that, since the unfortunate attack, Mr. Dada has relocated with his family to unknown destination.

He added that, his two mobile lines have remained switched off since his disappearance.