By Emmy Joe
RESIDENTS of Ogene Community in Amejo Ward, Okpokwu LGA of Benue State have accused the Ugbokolo Division of the Nigerian Police Force of unlawfully detaining two of its community leaders a day after they (leaders) reported to the police the discovery of the remains of a slain cow on a farm.
The cow reportedly belonged to one Mr. Bature, a Fulani herder settling at the outskirts of Ogene Village.
The residents are also decrying alleged extortion via bail payments for the detained community leaders’ release, as well as being forced to pay for the slain cow and the cost of transporting it from the farm to the police station.
Reliable sources from the community told National Record on Tuesday that while community leaders, in a meeting held in Ugbokolo with Fulani representatives led by one Bature, paid the sum of seven hundred thousand naira (N700,000) as compensation for the slain cow, they were compelled to make the payment by the police upon a veiled threat of repercussions from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mr. Okoriko Gabriel.
While confirming the payment of N700,000 to the Fulani in a chat on Tuesday, the National President of Ogene Community Development Forum, Comrade Eche Ejeh, stated that the payment was made for peace to reign between the Fulani settlement and the community.
Comrade Ejeh told National Record in a telephone interview that the community deliberated with the Fulani and reached an agreement to pay the money, noting that the compensation was negotiated by the police and payment made out of fear to forestall a possible future attack on the community by the Fulani, as insinuated by the police.
Ejeh, however, stressed that the cow was not killed by any member of Ogene Village, but the leadership resolved to pay the money for security reasons.
Giving an account of the incident surrounding the discovery of the slain cow, Comrade Ejeh said on the morning of Monday, January 12, 2026, a resident of the community, Mrs. Elizabeth Umale, upon reaching her farm – said to be far from the residential settlement, located at the boundary between Ogene and its neighbour, Agadagba in Ohimini LGA – discovered the remains of a cow dumped on her farm plot, with the front and back hindquarters as well as the neck and head cut off.
According to Ejeh, gripped by fear, Mrs. Umale raised an alarm, which prompted a neighbouring farmer to rush to the scene. On the advice of the bewildered neighbour, the incident was reported to the Chairman of Ogene Village, Mr. Anthony Ogwuche, who in turn called Comrade Ejeh, who eventually directed Mr. Ogwuche to report the matter to the Police Division at Ugbokolo.
Ejeh said upon the report, three policemen were assigned to ascertain the scene. They duly recorded the incident and asked the leadership to report to the police the following day, stating that they had no prior report from any Fulani of a missing cow.
The police thereafter reportedly informed the leader of the Fulani in Ogene Community, Mr. Bature, of the incident, asking him to report to the police station the following day.
On the following day, January 13, when the leadership of Ogene reported to the station, the community’s secretary, Mr. Godspower Adah, and spokesperson, Benedict Idoko, were instead detained for about an hour as prime suspects, leaving the chairman as a liaison to negotiate bail, which the police reportedly set at N100,000 each. Eventually, both were bailed with N70,000.
Comrade Ejeh said this shocked the leadership, as their objective was to report the matter to the police for proper investigation and to establish a modality to curb future occurrence. In addition to the money paid for the bail, Ejeh said the leaders were also ordered by the police to pay for the vehicle that conveyed the remains of the cow to the police station.
Ejeh revealed that initially, a meeting with the Fulani was scheduled to hold on Friday, January 30, to make payment of the compensation amount, but was shifted further to Monday, February 2, and again rescheduled to Tuesday, February 3.
“The [initial] meeting did not hold because the DPO said we should pay the money to them for onward payment to the Fulani on Monday and that there was no need for our meeting with the Fulani. He said failure to pay the money to them (police), we should take anything we see,” Comrade Ejeh said.
He, however, stated that the leadership insisted on meeting with the Fulani before making the payment because, according to them, they wanted to discuss the way forward with the Fulani, since they are still living on the community’s land, to ensure mutual understanding and security.
National Record gathered that when asked to bring the meat of the slain cow, the police reportedly responded that the meat had spoiled and that only photos were now available.
Efforts to get the police to provide a counter-narrative or address the specific allegations of unlawful detention, extortion, threats, and lack of diligent investigation before compelling the community to pay for the slain cow failed.
When contacted for enquiries on these issues, the DPO of Ugbokolo Police Division, SP Okoriko Gabriel, while confirming the incident and describing how the cow was butchered, declined further comment, urging that he was not in a position to speak to the press.
Efforts to get the comments of the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Udeme Edet, on the incident failed as she neither picked her calls nor responded to messages sent to her mobile phone.
