Angered by the take-over of their farmlands by armed herdsmen, the women of Epie and Atisa communities in Bayelsa State have staged a peaceful protest.
The women barricaded the Edepie roundabout axis of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, resulting in serious traffic gridlock.
They said their demand was for the herdsmen to leave their farmlands which serve as their major source of livelihood, whole also pleading with the state government to come to their aid.
This development is a fallout from the open grazing being practiced by the herders despite the allocation of a grazing reserve to them by the former governor of the state, Chief Seriake Dickson.
Many observers in Bayelsa State are of the opinion that the lack of sanctions on erring herders by the state authorities is the cause of the continuous open grazing.