Tear, Fear in Ondo: Herders’ attacks force Couple, Daudu, to abandon Home in Ondo, live apart in Fear

Nigeria, Ondo State — The family of  Mr. Adekunle Daudu and Mrs. Abiodun Jumoke Daudu, a couple from Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria, have been forced to abandon their home following repeated attacks by suspected herders.

According to the couple, they first came under attack in August 2022. But the situation worsened when their home was invaded again on February 28, 2025, in the dead of night — an incident that left them traumatized and ultimately separated in fear for their lives.

Speaking with journalists, Mrs. Abiodun Daudu recounted the emotional toll of the ordeal, saying: “We no longer live as a couple. The recurring attacks have separated me from my husband. We now live miles apart as squatters, even though we have a home that gives us death by a thousand cuts.”

She said, during the latest invasion, it was a female neighbour, Mrs. Modupe Elizabeth Adeola, who rescued and rushed her to Diamond Medical Centre for emergency treatment. An incident which was later reported at the Akoko Area Command Headquarters in Ikare-Akoko.

In a sworn affidavit filed before the High Court of Justice, Ikare-Akoko Judicial Division, on July 29, 2025, Mrs. Adeola detailed the repeated attacks on the Daudu family, both at home and on their farmland, asserting that the assaults appeared to be targeted, as nearby houses were left untouched.

“The Daudu family has been living in fear since an initial attack in 2022. On February 28, 2025, at about 2:00 a.m., I heard Mrs. Daudu screaming for help. Strange voices were asking for someone they called ‘Megida’. I waited until they fled before going to rescue her,” she stated in the affidavit.

The affidavit, sworn under the Statutory Declaration Law of Ondo State (2006), calls for urgent security and government intervention to protect vulnerable families in rural Akoko communities.

As of press time, attempts to reach the Ondo State Police Command for comment were unsuccessful. However, residents of Ikare-Akoko and neighbouring communities have raised alarms over the rising wave of insecurity, appealing to authorities for improved surveillance and safety measures.

Meanwhile, the Commander of the Ondo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), Adetunji Adeleye, while addressing journalists in Akure on October 12, 2025, acknowledged the persistent challenges of herder-farmer clashes in the state.

According to him, the security situation “was once terrible” as farmers lost crops and livelihoods to violent incursions, but he maintained that Amotekun’s interventions have significantly reduced such incidents.

Despite these assurances, for families like the Daudus, the scars of displacement and separation remain — a painful reminder of the human cost of insecurity in Nigeria’s rural communities.