BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – A victim of alleged Fulani Herdsmen brutality in Cross River, Mr Mathias Odey Otie has appealed to the state government and public spirited individuals to assist him fund his medical expenses at the General Hospital, Calabar.
Mr Otie, who was attacked alongside his family members by some herdsmen in his farm at Ukaka Community, Yala Local Government Area of Cross River, is currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital, along Mary Slessor Avenue, Calabar.
At present, Otie is undergoing skin graft surgery on his left hand that was cut off by the killer herdsmen.
Narrating his ordeal in the hands of the herdsmen to Forefront on his sick bed, the 57 year old farmer said he and the son merely tried to chase away the cows that were destroying crops in his farm, when the group leader emerged from where he was hiding with a cutlass that was used to inflict numerous cuts on him.
According to him, the incident resulted in the loss of his hand that was raised to protect and defend his head from being severed by the marauding herders.
Forefront findings however revealed that the herdsmen later handed themselves over to the police at Ogoja for protective custody as anger raged within the Ukaka Community over the dastardly act. However, the police at Ogoja refused to comment on the matter, referring all enquiries to the Police Headquarters in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
