Protesters Barricade Bayelsa Road Over Alleged Rape, Farm Destruction by Herdsmen

Residents of Yenizue-Gene and Okutukutu communities in Bayelsa State took to the streets on Monday to protest what they described as a wave of violent attacks, rape, and destruction of farmlands by suspected herdsmen. The aggrieved protesters, mostly women, barricaded the busy Melford Okilo Road in Yenagoa Local Government Area, halting traffic for hours as they called on the government to fully implement the state’s anti-open grazing law.

The demonstrators, who arrived as early as 6 a.m., set up canopies and chairs on the road, displaying damaged cassava tubers and other crops allegedly destroyed by herders’ cattle. Motorists were forced to find alternate routes as the blockade cut off access between Okutukutu and Yenizue-Gene.

Despite repeated appeals from the police, the women refused to vacate the road, demanding immediate action against the herders and full enforcement of the law banning open grazing, enacted in 2021. The protest was reportedly sparked by the recent rape of an elderly woman on her farm by suspected herdsmen and ongoing attacks that have made farming increasingly dangerous in the area.

Carrying placards with messages like “They are raping our women, government help us,” and “They are harvesting our cassava to feed their cows,” the women expressed frustration over what they described as years of neglect and insecurity.

Madam Gift, a mother of three, said many women have abandoned their farms due to fear of assault. “Many of our people have stopped going to their farms because of the constant attacks and destruction by the herdsmen,” she lamented.

Bonus Wombu, a retired provost marshal and community member, also decried the lack of government protection. “I am a retiree and I have many farms in the bush, but my only source of livelihood has been destroyed,” he said. “The government enacted an anti-open grazing law in 2021, but they are not doing enough to protect us. That is our problem.”

The Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Alonyenu Idu, was meeting with the protesters at the time of this report.

Meanwhile, the Niger Delta Peoples Movement (NDPM) has condemned recent killings in Bayelsa and Edo states allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen. In a statement signed by its convener, Ejiro Ineneji, the group described the attacks as part of a recurring cycle of violence that has left many residents unsafe and frustrated by government inaction.

“How long shall they kill our people while we sit and wait for justice from the government?” the statement read. “We are tired of these herdsmen invading our farms and destroying our agricultural developments. The massacre of Niger Delta people in their sleep has become a pattern.”

NDPM called on the governments of Edo, Bayelsa, and other Niger Delta states to take decisive action to prevent further bloodshed and restore safety to affected communities.