Ilasa Ekiti community in Ekiti
State has been thrown into turmoil following the beheading of a teenage Fulani
girl by a herdsman to whom she had reportedly been betrothed.
The herder, whose identity is yet
to be made public, allegedly ambushed the girl at a stream in the community on
Tuesday and cut off her head.
The police in Ekiti State on
Wednesday confirmed the incident, saying the suspect had been arrested
following information provided by the deceased’s younger sister who witnessed
the murder.
The suspect reportedly fled the
scene of the crime as soon as he carried out the act, but he was later
arrested.
The victim had reportedly been
betrothed to the young man according to Fulani custom, but her family reneged
on the promise of fully handing over the girl to him as his wife, a community
leader said.
Trouble reportedly erupted when
the suspect requested her would-be ‘wife’ spend the last Eld-el-Fitr with him,
but was turned down.
The traditional ruler of the
community, Ajayi Omolagba, who gave details of the incident, said the failure
of the family of the young lady to “release her before, during and after the
celebration angered the suspect who assumed the contract had been breached by
the family”.
Residents of the community
reported that the victim, after growing up, observed that her future husband
was a drunk and drug addict and so avoided him.
Mr Omolagba said the community
has been in shock since the incident occurred.
“We summoned the families of all
parties involved and their landlords to a meeting where resolutions were
reached on how to forestall future occurrence,” he said.
“The community would also make
the necessary appeasement to the gods as such an incident was strange, and it
is a taboo in the land.”
The Police Public Relations
Officer, Ekiti command, Caleb Ikechukwu, said investigation had been launched
into the matter.
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All these herdsmen, they're always causing one form of havoc or the other
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