Persons operating open grazing within Benue State have been mandated to comply with the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Law (2017).
The Benue State Security Council gave the directive through a communique on Wednesday while issuing a two-week ultimatum for compliance.
Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Sir Tersoo Kula, who read the communique after the meeting on Wednesday in Makurdi, said the law was still in force in the state.
The Benue State Government enacted the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017 to prevent clashes between nomadic livestock herders and crop farmers.
The law was also to prevent the destruction of crop farms, environmental degradation and the spread of diseases caused by open rearing and grazing of livestock.
Kula said that the council also resolved that armed herders/invaders should immediately leave the state and return to where they came from, warning those who allegedly invited them to desist from the act.
The CPS also stated that the council has also constituted a seven-man committee to ensure the enforcement of the ultimatum, which begins on Wednesday, February 21.
“The State Security Council urges Benue people to remain calm and security conscious as the State Government was making efforts to secure the lives and property of the people of the State.
“It also tasks security agencies, traditional rulers and the general public to report for persecution, any person who was in the habit of collaborating and inviting the armed herders into the state.
“On the hardship and food insecurity across the nation, the council urges the people to remain calm as efforts are being put in place by the government to address the challenge,” the communique reads.
