Kano ‘hunters’ in the belly of Edo forest FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN

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They set out with one accord. They crossed many rivers, streams, brooks, springs, etc. And climbed mountains, hills of various shapes and heights.
They claimed they were hunters from near-desert Kano State. They sauntered through villages, towns and cities down to Rivers State. They combed bushes and forests.
They navigated the thick forests of the South. And were so armed. Heavily too! They landed safely in the forests of their choice. And explored and exploited the forests to the fullest.
Devouring, rampaging and ravaging all through. Satisfied that their “hunting” expedition was one huge success. It was time to return home with their plunders. Even if only for Sallah celebration.
They set out early enough on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Their take-off point was Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Imagine! Where is the forest in this mangrove swamp for hunting?
Anyway, their trip was fast and smooth until they entered Edo forest. The melting point: Uromi, Esan North East Local Government.
There, the narrative changed to the worse. They reached a point of no return. And 16 of them never lived to tell their tragic story. Survivors and eyewitnesses did that for them.
The Uromi vigilantes wouldn’t allow the Fulani “hunters” passage. They insisted in screening and scrutinising them. You would not want to blame them. They had good reason for their action.
They had got credible intelligence. That seasoned kidnappers were being hauled back to the North. That was a clear threat to their security.
Promptly. The vigilante mounted the road. Conducting stop-and-search on all North-bound vehicles. Dangote trucks were very conspicuous in the picture. They stood out among them.
A particular truck was placed on serious suspicion. And it turned out to be true! One of the Fulani chaps drew a knife to resist search. Without prodding, he stabbed one of the vigilantes.
His pool of blood spurred the rest and the youths into action. And when the dust settled. Sixteen Fulani “hunters” were felled. Now. See what they discovered in the vehicle. Very alarming:
Bundles of raw cash running into several millions of naira. Obviously the spoils of their “hunting quest.” Suspected ransom collected from their victims. Dangerous weapons, including assault riffles and AK47.
Some northern governors. Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). Other northern elders will not stop fuming. That these Fulani were “hunters” not terrorists. They are building emptiness on nothingness.
We can’t be fooled all the time. We know a hunter when we see one. The Kano “hunters” were certainly not it. They were what they were; terrorists. Nothing else can convince us.
We have history to adequately back this up. They forgot effortlessly. Edo State has been under siege in the last few months. It has recorded over 200 deaths. All arising from Fulani terrorist attacks. That stirred the consciousness of the youths and vigilantes. They would not allow that to remain unchecked.
They were drawing from their ugly and horrific experiences. And they had more than a legion of such terrible encounters. All with the Fulani killer herdsmen.
Frightening exemplars: Early in February 2025. One Peter Ogedengbe was slaughtered on his farmland in Erha, Owan West Local Government. In the same Edo State. The blood-sucking Fulani did the unthinkable.
They harvested his cassava, fed them to their cattle. They then put knife through him. And dispatched him to his grave. The Ogedengbe family cried, yelled.
Nothing happened. Governor Monday Okpehobolo did not make any arrest. He left it open to fade away. The same governor that abandoned his state for Kano. Courtesy, Uromi killings!
Perhaps, he’s in still in Kano. He is patiently waiting on Governor Abba Yusuf. To compile the full list of the killed Fulani “hunters.” For him to redeem his lifetime vow of paying “full compensations.” To the “families” of the slain “hunters.”
There were other blood-chilling incidents. And many too numerous, unreported. They dotted Ovia-North East and South West, Etsako East, Akoko-Edo and the two Owan local governments.
Fulani herders and terrorists were possessed. They went berserk. Butchering mothers and children in large numbers. And sucked their bloods in reckless abundance.
Where was Governor Okpehobolo then? Trust him, he bothered not. Even though they were his kinsmen! No one shouted reprisal in the manner in which some northerners are screaming blue murder.
Then this! The terrorists were encouraged by the absence of resistance. They became more fierce and rapacious.  They sacked more than 25 communities. And annexed them under their effective control.
They unleashed their cattle to graze on people’s crops. Any challenger met his untimely death on the spot. What a brazen act of impunity!
The reason the Fulani “hunters” ended up in mission impossible. Their inordinate and hideous motives consumed them in Edo forest.
Perhaps. This forced a friend to wonder aloud. His concern is genuine: “Please can anyone explain what Fulani ‘hunters’ are doing in Edo State? I just don’t understand this country.
“Can a bus-load of Yoruba  ‘hunters’ go through Kano State with their weapons in tow and live to complete their voyage?
“If Fulani killed armed Yoruba ‘hunters’ in Kano State, would there be mass arrest of Fulani in Kano?”
He is not done yet. He captures it more vividly, as he roars: “The Governor of Edo State has been in Kano since yesterday (Sunday).
“Meeting with the families of ‘hunters’ who left all the snakes in Kano to hunt for king cobras in Edo State. What a country?
“No northern governor visited Owo, Ondo State, to commiserate with the people when Fulani herdsmen and jihadists killed church worshippers in the town some years ago.
“So, the lives of Fulani ‘hunters’ count for gold and diamond compared to those of Yoruba killed in Owo? The day of reckoning is nigh.”
That day is happening already! I sincerely share his honest feelings. I join him in his bewilderment and amazement. I align totally with his sound thought process. Fault him if you dare!
Former President Muhammadu Buhari strived exactly to do that. He hurriedly undertook one unwise voyage to Oyo State in 2002. He was misadvised. He was misled. He fell cheaply for his own sentiment and emotion.
His action grossly fell short of statesmanship. And he met his match in the late Lam Adesina, a former governor. It was a brick wall.
Buhari and his team carried the war to the “enemies’ enclave.” Their collective mood depicted just that. They pretended not. It was their deliberate intention.
So? They raged all the way to Ibadan. All to no avail. Because they refused to be appeased. Sources said Adesina looked Buhari straight in the eye. And dusted him for his uncouth utterances. He then took him to the cleaners: From-top-to-bottom!
He sufficiently checkmated him. Although, he stormed out of the parley angrily with his team. But he never, ever made an attempt to repeat such a futile task.
Lam’s former spokesman, Kehinde Olaosebikan gave his eyewitness account. Courtesy, The Punch:
“The then General Muhammadu Buhari led a team from the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to the Governor’s Office, Ibadan, to challenge the government on its perceived unfair treatment meted to the Fulani in Oke-Ogun.
“It was on October 13, 2010.” Adesina refused to be intimidated. He called Buhari’s bluff. Olaosebikan testified:
“After listening to Buhari, with equanimity, betraying no emotions, Adesina invited the heads of all security agencies in the state to respond to Buhari and give accounts of the true situation of things.”
Buhari was led to the stark reality. Did he apologise? Great doubt! He showcased his Fulani traits. He behaved true to his billing: “At the end of the day, Buhari realised there was no merit in the petition they brought to Oyo State.” Olaosebikan sealed it all!
The Fulani in Buhari would not stop at that. He must nudge further. He pointedly asked why Adesina’s “people were killing his own people.”
Again, Olaosebikan didn’t hesitate to volunteer: “Yes, it is true. He said so. At that time, he was the Patron of Miyetti Allah group, that is, the association of cattle breeders.”
Buhari despicably exhibited that evil bias throughout his eight dark years. He did breathe heavily on us. The Uromi killings largely originated from past mistrust and distrust. Festered recklessly by Buhari’s regime.
If he had acted honourably. If he had cautioned his Fulani kinsmen early enough in his reign. We wouldn’t have been swimming in this murky blood.
But he opted not to do that for his hidden agenda. He came on a revenge mission. Against his real and perceived enemies. And he did just that for his gruesome years.
He left the killer-Fulani absolutely unchecked. And they became absolute law onto themselves. And a heavy burden on us. He gave tacit approval to their monstrous actions and inactions.
It was disgusting and repulsive. Telling us to learn how to live in peace with our neighbour-Fulani killers. Or better still. To yield our ancestral lands to them to graze on unbridled.
If that would guarantee us peace. What insult, what assault! But we never did. We couldn’t have! Buhari failed himself. He betrayed our trust and the oath he took to defend us.
If the uproar that greeted the Uromi killings from the North were heard in the endless killings by Fulani herdsmen in time past. We wouldn’t have come near the mess on our laps now.
We aver emphatically. There are bushes enough in the North for the Kano “hunters”. In fact, their Sambisa forest would have been it for them. It spans hundreds of kilometres. Almost lying fallow.
Better opportunities are abound there. They did not need to stress themselves to far away Rivers State. They wouldn’t have met their Waterloo in the dreaded Edo forest. Their path wouldn’t have crossed with the Uromi vigilantes’.
But they goofed. They took the risk of their lives. They went hunting down South. Seeking for whom and what to devour. That way, they ended in the belly of Edo forest. And they were so devoured. SAD!
They claimed to be hunters. But we hugely doubted them. We were convinced they feigned it. And it was so easy to detect they lied. Lorry-load of Kano “hunters” in Edo forest? Ha-h-a! Tell that to the marines.
Virtually all the forests in the South are Fulani killers-invested. Some drastic and urgent measures need to be applied. It’s a golden opportunity to put Tinubu’s much-flaunted dexterity and boldness to real test. Now is the time to act and act decisively.
There must be a clear, clean break from our obnoxious history. He just must do things differently. Our old, odd, dirty past has to be jettisoned It has to give way. To achieve different results pleasing to us.
Government needs an urgent reawakening. And now is the time. A minute later could be disastrous.
We fervently pray. We all live to tell a sweet story of victory and liberation. Yes! It has come to that.