Some yet to be identified hoodlums, reportedly attacked and threatened to wipe out a family in Ondo over missing Indian hemp kept in a farm.
The farmer identified Martina Akpan who now lives in fear of the attack, disclosed that her younger brother, Isaac Akpan was attacked by hoodlums numbering over 40 at his farm. According to him, the hoodlums who were armed with dangerous weapons, allegedly beat Akpan to a pulp after he was said to have been queried over the disappearance of bags of Indian hemp kept on the family’s cocoa farm.
Daily Post reported that Martina who met the hoodlums with her brother forcefully sandwiched on one of the motorcycle while on her way to the farm, was also attacked alongside her father after they traced the hoodlums to Ilu-Abo, few kilometers from Bolorunduro where they met Akpan in a lifeless state after series of torture.
Recounting the sad experience, she said;
“I went to the farm very late on the fateful day because I just had a miscarriage and was tired but decided to join my husband and brother at the farm because we had left the farm unattended to for some days because of my father in-law burial.
“I saw about 40 of them on 15 motorcycles, and I saw my brother who had been beaten and injured tucked into some two persons on one of the bikes, I had to turn back and I was told he had been taken to Ilu-Abo.
“I went there with our father, only to find my brother has been beaten injured and immediately they saw us, they descended on us and beat my father to coma, demanding to know where the bags of Indian hemp were kept.
“My father fainted and as I tried to touch him, they matchetted me while some of them beat me with sticks and I also fainted because I have lost a lot of blood.”
Martina who further disclosed that the hoodlums stated that they cannot be arrested and also threatened to wipe out the whole family if they failed to produce the bags of Indian hemp, had some officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, invited to the scene “who advised them to hand us over to police”.
Ondo State’s Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Femi Joseph, who confirmed the incident disclosed that some arrests have been made. He further disclosed investigation is still on to apprehend others involved in the crime.
