Soldiers, Amotekun clash over seized cows

Soldiers, Amotekun clash over seized cows

A mild skirmish on Tuesday occurred between soldiers of the 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, and operatives of the Ondo State Security Network, known as Amotekun Corps, over the latter’s seizure of 100 cows in Akure.

They reportedly seized the cows for breaching the anti-open grazing law of the state.

The Amotekun operatives reportedly held the cows after acting on distress calls from farmers.

The farmers, who called from the Oke Aro Area of Akure, complained that the cows had grazed and destroyed their crops.

While officers of the corps were on hand to enforce the law, soldiers from the Artillery Brigade stormed the area to prevent them from taking the cows away.

The soldiers reportedly made claims that the cows arrested belonged to their officers in the barracks.

The soldiers took away two of the operatives, according to witnesses, after a fisticuff and gunshots.

“As the Amotekun personnel were marching the arrested cows to their office at Alagbaka Area of the state, soldiers numbering about ten stormed the area with Hilux vehicle and prevented the arrest of the cows,” a source who witnessed the incident told reporters.

“The soldiers insisted that the Amotekun men would not go away with the cows because they belonged to their officers from the military barrack.”

The Corps Commander, Adetunji Adeyeye, confirmed the incident.

He described the clash as ”a minor disagreement” between the two groups.

“It has been resolved amicably,” he said while responding to inquiries from journalists.

“It was the arrested herders that hid under the soldiers to cause misunderstanding between the security outfits.

“I can confirm to you that the cows have been released to us.”

Recently, army authorities withdrew their men from checkpoints in the state after an alleged misunderstanding between the two security agencies.

They resolved the issue after several months, and the soldiers returned to the checkpoints.

The Amotekun was set up by government’s in South-western states mainly to check nomadic herding and the activities of armed herders and kidnappers.

It was reported that violent clashes between herders and farming communities have reduced in Ondo and Ekiti states since the setting up of the Amotekun in those states.