Hundreds of women from Eha-Ohala in Isi-Uzu local government area of Enugu State staged a peaceful protest against incessant herdsmen attacks and killings in their communities.
Eha-Ohala is made of Mgbuji, Umujiove, and Abor autonomous communities.
The women, who started the protest by 8:30am, blocked the Nkalagu-Eha-Amufu-Ikem-Obollo-Afor Federal Highway, calling on the Enugu state government to intervene and find a lasting solution to the crisis.
The protesters condemned the inaction of security agencies, accusing them of protecting the invaders.
They shared harrowing accounts of women being raped, beaten, and mutilated by suspected herdsmen.
In a video clip SaharaReporters obtained on Tuesday, the protesting women lamented that residents have been prevented from accessing their farms, exacerbating economic hardship and food insecurity.
“Our women are being raped by Fulani herdsmen; our husbands don’t go to their farms again. Our sons don’t go to the farm again. When women go to their farms, they will be beaten and raped by Fulani herdsmen, who also insert a stick inside their private parts,” the protesting women lamented.
SaharaReporters, which has been covering attacks in Eha-Amufu, a border community with Benue State, reports that at least 150 people have been killed, and 28 farm settlements have been sacked and occupied by herdsmen between 2020 and 2025.
Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach the Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, for comments on the incident were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls.
Similarly, the Enugu State government has remained silent on the protest, with Governor Peter Mbah’s media unit yet to issue a statement on the matter.
