The corpses of eight farmers reportedly killed by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen at Uwheru in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, last Friday, have been exhumed by a search team made up of police personnel and representatives of the community for investigation.
Two of the corpses were exhumed on Sunday, while six others were exhumed on Monday afternoon.
The killings also, yesterday, drew the ire of Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, which did not only frown on renewed herdsmen attacks on Uwheru villages but also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the killings of the people.
These came on a day the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Diocese of Ogbaru, Anambra State, described Nigeria as a country at crossroads and in reverse gear without steering.
The exhumation of the victims’ corpses came as the community also confirmed reports that two others killed were burnt to ashes by the herdsmen.
One of those burnt to ashes, identified as Itoje Dennis from Otor-Iyede in Isoko North local government area of Delta State, had since been taken to his hometown for burial.
President-General of the the community, Cassidy Akpedafe, and the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Hafiz Inuwa, had Sunday, disagreed on the reported killings, with the police boss claiming the killings did not happen and that some individuals in the state were using the reports to cause apprehension in the state.
“If there are any (deaths), why are their corpses being hidden from the police?” the CP had queried.
The community’s President-General, however, accused the police commissioner of being economical with the truth.
Consequently, the community swiftly on Sunday afternoon, exhumed the corpses of two of those killed in the attack to prove the police wrong.
The corpses were taken to Central Hospital, Ughelli for autopsy.
When Vanguard visited the hospital morgue yesterday, the decomposing corpses of the duo were seen, with one of them burnt after he was said to have been shot dead by the assailants.
The community president-general said: “As we speak (yesterday morning), seven persons are lying dead inside the bush and we are yet to recover their corpses.
“17 persons have been rushed to the hospital for medical treatment and I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the police not to cook up reports on this matter.”
Meanwhile, a security source from the 222 battalion, Agbarha-Otor, also confirmed yesterday that two of its men were shot during the attack.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Yes, two soldiers from the battalion who are stationed at Bomadi and drafted to the area sustained injuries during the incident.
“They are in stable condition and are currently receiving medical attention for injuries sustained during the incident at Bomadi General hospital.”
