Ortom Calls for More Support on Ban on Open Grazing

George Okoh in Makurdi

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has stated that the implementation of the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law of the state needs the support of all Nigerians to end the perennial clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

The governor who made the call wednesday while addressing stakeholders at the government house Makurdi, said the law has come to stay even as he disclosed that four herdsmen were being prosecuted for killing two persons and raping a house wife since the implementation of the law.

He disclosed that there was an overwhelming support for the law while also advising people to be on their guards against the threat of some criminal herdsmen who had threading the state.

“Some lawyers, including SANs, have decided to defend the state in the case it has with Miyetti Allah Kauta Hore at the court which shows that Benue people appreciate the ban on open grazing.”

The general opinion and agreement at the stakeholders’ meeting attended by over 5,000 persons was that the law would restore peace in the state where herdsmen have killed over 4,000 persons since 2011 when the annihilation which some people call jihad started.