Abia Legislature Joins Ekiti to Enact Anti-grazing Law

Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia

With increasing murderous attacks by Fulani herdsmen and calls on the Abia State Government to take drastic action to check the menace, the state House of Assembly has commenced the process of enacting anti-grazing law.

Various groups have been mounting pressure on Abia and other states in the southern half of Nigeria to checkmate the herdsmen with appropriate legislation as was done by the Ekiti State Government.

This calls formed part of the communiqués issued by the southern Nigeria leaders at their meeting on October 18, 2016, in Umuahia and at Igbo summit held a week later at Uturu where a similar demand was also made.

But the Deputy Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Cosmos Ndukwe, wednesday told journalists that the state had now heeded the call and was indeed in the process of having its own law to checkmate the atrocities of herdsmen as a bill cited as HAB 36 has now passed through first reading.

According to him, HAB 36 – Control of Normadic Activities Rearing and prohibition of grazing Routes/Reserves in Abia State Bill 2016 was among nine other bills at various stages of consideration in the assembly.

Ndukwe, who was speaking at the monthly press briefing as the Chairman of House Committee on Information, acknowledged that the absence of anti-grazing law in the state was making it nearly impossible to prosecute herdsmen that destroy farm lands and crops.

However, he promised that once HAB 36 was passed into law and assented to by the state governor, the state would be in a good stead to tackle all problems connected with grazing activities.
The deputy speaker said between October and second week of November, the assembly, aside considering the bills, has passed six important resolutions including the one on violation of extant laws and guidelines guiding retirement of magistrates in the state by Mrs. Grace Uzoma Ukeje and the state Judicial Service Commission.

Ukeje, who is a chief magistrate at Osisioma magisterial division, was said to have attained retirement age of 60 as at December 31, 2015, but stayed put hereby violating the extant law and guidelines pertaining to her job as a judicial officer.

After the petition against Ukeje was investigated by the Assembly Committee on Public Petition and was found to have violated the law and guidelines of her service, the legislature recommended to the governor to ask the erring chief magistrate to proceed on retirement immediately.

The State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, acted promptly on the recommendation by the assembly and in a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Government House, Mr. Onyi Nwama, the over-aged magistrate was directed to proceed on retirement without further delay.

The governor also dissolved the board of the state Judicial Service Commission with immediate effect following the expiration of its tenure.