Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has signed the Open
Grazing Prohibition Bill 2017, which prescribes a five-year jail term
for herdsmen or pastoralist caught engaging in open grazing of animals
in the state, into law.
Open grazing has been blamed for the frequent clashes between farmers
and herdsmen, which has claimed hundreds of lives in the state.
The governor signed the bill into law at a stakeholders meeting at the Government House in Makurdi.
“The law brings an end to the incessant clash between livestock/herds
rearers and crop farmers in the state, who in attempts to protect their
respective interest, clash, kill maim and destroy persons and
properties,” Governor Ortom said.
“The law also encourages large-scale livestock and crop farming in
a secure environment and the Ministry of Agriculture has been empowered
to administer and regulate livestock production in the state.”
Also, under the law, the governor said it would be illegal for livestock owners or farmers to bear firearms.
He said, “Any person found guilty of open grazing, shall be sentenced
to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of N1,000, 000. It is an offence
if livestock to stray to the other persons’ land. No open grazing, no
movement of livestock on foot within and across Benue state and no
livestock owner or farmer shall carry firearms.”.
Governor Ortom also signed the Anti-Kidnapping and Terrorism Law, which prescribes the death penalty for offenders.
At the stakeholders meeting, many speakers, including the Tor Tiv,
Professor James Ayatse, and Senator George Akume, backed the governor
and the law.
The Parish Priest of Saint Francis Catholic Church, Daudu, Reverend
Father Solomon Mfa, who was displaced by herdsmen in 2014, thanked the
governor for bringing consolation to many internally displaced persons
by signing the bill into law.
He said, “With all sense of fulfilment, we have seen the promise land
and all that is left is to enter the promise land which I feel will be
done if this (law) is implemented.
“When the bill was passed by the Benue State House of Assembly, we
saw some herdsmen going out of the state and for us who are farmers,
that is a big plus because now we can access our farms without fear of
being killed or slaughtered; this is a big milestone.”
Meanwhile, representatives of the herdsmen in the state have appealed for more time to enable them to establish ranches, while citizens hailed the state government for addressing the issues of insecurity.
The representative of Fulani herdsmen, Mr Garus Gololo, said, “He (Governor Ortom) said he is not driving the Fulani away from Benue State, unlike what other people have been speculating, hence the issue of ranching.
“You know, ranching is not a one-day process and we will go back and
tell them what the governor said. We are fully in support of the ranches
because ranches may even produce fatter cows than the one walking
around.”
For many families in the state, signing the bill into law a step in
the right direction, but the successful implementation is key to the
return of peace to the state.