Residents of Elelu village in Erah community in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State have banned the sale and consumption of beef following the alleged incessant kidnapping and killings of their kinsmen by suspected herdsmen.

The residents disclosed this during a protest at the community at the weekend.

The protesters made up of both young and old, also threatened to relocate to Edo State Government House for alternative shelter if the State government does not urgently come to their aid as the community is no longer inhabitable.

The residents in their large numbers with belongings on their heads, however, called on the state government to come to their rescue from the hands of suspected herdsmen who have continuously invaded their farmlands and kidnapped their fathers, husbands and children.

They alleged that in the last two weeks, about seven persons in the community have been kidnapped and killed.

Speaking, the concerned community leaders, youth representatives and vigilante leaders said the protest was also to mourn and honour the lives of their fallen heroes killed by suspected kidnappers.

The spokesperson of the group, Fred Enaikhe Aleburu gave the names of the fallen heroes such as Edekin Ighalo, Abdullahi and Victor Ogedengbe, a Vigilante commander.

Aleburu said the deceased lost their lives defending the community.

According to him, these courageous men stood against armed herdsmen who brought terror to the peaceful land.

“They shielded our mothers, our children, and our farmlands and for their sacrifice, they were murdered in cold blood.

“As we speak, the body of Victor Ogedengbe still lies in the mortuary. Yet the violence continues.

“In just the past two weeks, seven of our children have been kidnapped, with one still in captivity as we speak.

“Our forests have been turned into den of terror, criminal strongholds where ransom is demanded and innocent victims are kept under inhumane conditions.

“Our mothers can no longer go to the farm. Our youth are hunted. Our elderly live in fear. The lands that once sustained us now lie in waste and silence.

“This is not just insecurity, this is a deliberate war on our survival. This is a slow genocide.

“We are also here to protest hunger. Our people now suffer because they cannot farm. Our markets are empty. Our homes are filled with helplessness.

“What was once a self-sufficient and productive community is now battling starvation and fear.

“And so, today, we rise to say with one voice that ‘Enough Is Enough,’” he lamented.

He, however, called on the government to fulfil its constitutional duty to protect its citizens.

Aleburu said the community demanded immediate establishment of permanent security checkpoints on all roads and entry points leading into and out of Erah.

They also demanded a full-scale investigation and comprehensive flushing of forests to root out and eliminate all alleged terrorist elements hiding within the community.

“A sustained and visible security presence across our villages, to ensure long-term peace and protection.

“Emergency intervention to address food insecurity, including support for displaced farmers and restoration of safe farming activities.

“If our villages are no longer safe, we will sleep at the doorstep of leadership until we are heard and protected. Our lives are not negotiable.

“Furthermore, as a solemn response to our collective suffering and to honor our fallen defenders, the people of Erah hereby declare a permanent ban on the consumption and the sale of beef in our community.

“The killer herdsmen who hide behind cattle have taken too much from us. Our lives, our food, our peace. We will not continue to support a system built on our blood and tears,” he stated.

Also speaking, Chief Julius Unuigbe alleged that herdsmen have invaded their bushes looking for people to kidnap or kill.

Unuigbe said the people no longer sleep with their eyes closed.On his part, Joseph Edairu, one of the protesters lamented that one of his senior brothers, his friend’s two sisters and a Taraba man living in the community were recently kidnapped by suspected herdsmen.

Edairu, added that uptil now the abducted Taraba man is nowhere to be found.

“This is the reason why we came out to cry to the Edo State Government that they should come and us drive those kidnappers away from our bush,” he said.

On her part, Mrs Eunice Ighalo, added that ,”we can no longer go to the farm or river and we are now seriously living in hunger and poverty, that is why we decided that we will go to Edo State Government House to protest there.

Blessing Ogedegbe, wife to Victor Ogedenge, one of the deceased, while lamenting that the corpse of her husband killed in February 2025 is still at the mortuary, appealed to the state government to provide her with a job to enable her cater for her children.