Man, son hospitalised after herder’s attack in Jonathan’s community

A suspected herder has inflicted serious injuries on a teenage boy and his father at Osuan forest in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s community of Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

It was gathered that the herdsman attacked Mr Goodhead Nation and his 18-year-old son, Samuel Nation, over his missing cow.

The unidentified herder was said to have attacked Samuel with a machete and inflicted serious wounds on his fingers and head.

However, Samuel’s 58-year-old father, Goodhead Nation, reportedly managed to escape further attack with bruises on the left hand.

It was further gathered that Samuel underwent a four-hour surgery at the emergency ward of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa.

Narrating the incident, Goodhead Nation said the attack occurred on Saturday evening while they were working on their palm farm.

He said the Fulani herder came through the back entrance of his farm and accused them of stealing his cow.

He said: “We told him we did not know anything about his missing cow. I asked him to look at us whether we looked like people who could kill a cow. He appeared adamant. After some seconds, he attacked me with his big stick.

“He later brought out his machete and chased my son. We later discovered my son by the riverside with heavy machete cuts on the head, waist and hand."

A spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Ebilade Ekerefe, who visited the victim at the hospital, expressed sadness over the incident, warning that he believed that the incident was an isolated one.

He said: “Let me say, this is not the first time the herdsmen’s incident has happened. But this is one incident too many. Considering the mood of the country, the Ijaw youths will not carry out reprisals. We believe it is an isolated attack. We do not want to believe that the attack was planned.”