Four persons have been murdered and five others kidnapped in Oke Irinja, Owode Yewa, Ogun State.
The victims are Adamu Salihu (21), Aliyu Babuga (24), Dahiru (32), and Abdullahi (35).
A police source said the four herders were abducted in a bush in the community.
The police source said the bodies of the victims were found with ropes tied around each of their necks inside a bush along Sokoto Road in Ilobi via Owode Yewa.
An eyewitness, Saliu Amodu, who said one of the victims is his brother, said the gunmen attacked their victims in a bush with their cattle.
Amode said the invaders came with a vehicle and deceived them that a certain chief in the community wanted to see them.
He told the police five of them were said to have entered the said vehicle, and the man who drove the vehicle to the area and others entered and then drove off.
“They were my brothers. They were with their cows in the bush when some men brought a vehicle that Baale wanted to see them in. The five of them immediately followed the men and entered the vehicle.
“They were taken to Sokoto Road, Ilobi, where the dead bodies of four out of the five that left the bush were found,” Amodu was quoted as informing the police.
The state Police spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, said the police had begun an investigation to unravel the circumstances behind the incident.
“The corpses have been taken to the General Hospital in Ilaro for autopsy. We are investigating the incident to unravel the reasons behind it. No cow was stolen. And nothing was taken from them,” Odutola said
The police said the gunmen could be suspected rustlers, adding that complaints over “poddy dodgers” had increased.
Odutola said there are “more complaints about poddy dodgers. The best thing to do is to call their Sariki to mark their cows, take pictures and videos of their cows, and post on social media that may curb cattle rustling.”
