Uneasy calm in Benue as grazing law takes effect
Barelyadayafterthecommencement of the implementation of the law prohibiting open grazing of livestock in Benue State, there appears to be an uneasy calm in some rural settlements. Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that already, one person identified as Ortser Kwaghdoo has been killed and another injured by some gunmen suspected to be herders in Tombo ward of Gaambe-tiev community in Logo Local Government Area.
The spokesman of the Benue Police Command, Moses Joel Yamu, confirmed the killing, adding that one 70-year-old Hingir Akaa, who survived the brutal attack, sustained injuries. He, however, said that one Gambo Ahmadu was arrested in connection with the crime, with a locally made pistol with three live cartridges.
“Today, November 2, 2017, a report was received that there was an attack on Azege village in Logo when suspected herdsmen passed through in the early hours of the day. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and mobile policemen stationed at Ayilamo quickly moved in and discovered that one Ortser Kwaghdoo, 40, was killed, while Hingir Akaa, 70, sustained injuries,” he said.
Yamu further said the body of the deceased, who was shot Thursday morning while he went fishing, had been deposited in a nearby community morgue while the wounded was receiving treatment in a hospital.
He said investigation into the matter had begun, and appealed for calm among rural dwellers, assuring that adequate security measures were in place.
The special adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on security matters, Col. Edwin Jando (retired), who is also the chairman of the task force on implementation of the anti-open grazing law, confirmed the attack to newsmen in Makurdi.
Apart from the incident in Logo, villagers in the riverine areas of Agatu, bordering Nasarawa State, alleged a buildup of strange looking men suspected to be armed herders parading the surroundings across the river.
The locals alleged that the massive influx of cattle on the other side of the river was a source of worry and a sign that the strangers could be up to something sinister.
However, indications from other parts of the state at the time of this report suggested relative calm and the people of rural communities complying with the law by restricting the movement of their livestock to makeshift ranches.
Although Makurdi, the state capital, seemed calm with adequate security in place at strategic locations, especially at the outskirts of the metropolis, cattle breeders and traders within the suburb decried the effect of the law on their livelihood.
The coordinator of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Benue State, Garus Gololo, told our correspondent that his members had started leaving the state following the commencement of the anti-grazing law.
Gololo said the insistence of the state government to implement the law without providing ranches and basic amenities to cater for herders was tantamount to sending them away.
He rejected the report in some quarters that his members were being manhandled by Benue people following the implementation of the law. He, however, expressed worry that their fundamental human right to free movement was being violated.
He called on the state government to allow their cattle graze around market areas.
Secretary of the association, Garba Mohammed, told newsmen in Makurdi on Wednesday that their members could not take their cattle to graze outside the market as vigilante members had been stationed close to the stream where they used to drink water.
Mohammed said the association had over 3,000 cattle grazing around the international market, adding that they never disagreed with their host communities, and issues were usually amicably resolved.
He further expressed worry at the implementation of the open grazing law as security agents are positioned everywhere to prevent their cattle from grazing freely. He, therefore, urged the state government to resolve the issue by providing ranches and basic amenities to enable them operate. He said that if nothing was done to assuage their plight, they may have no option than to leave Benue State.
Mohammed warned that if herders were forced to leave the state, at least 1,000 Benue youths who benefit from the market through direct labour everyday would become helpless. “We are for peace and not war,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, thousands of women, under the aegis of Benue Mothers, drawn across the 23 local government areas of the state, Thursday took to the streets of Makurdi in solidarity with Governor Samuel Ortom’s administration for the implementation of the law.
Some of the elderly women stripped half naked as they walked through major streets of the state capital, chanting solidarity songs to hail the new law. They ended the procession at the Government House.
The women, who bore placards with inscriptions such as, “Respect Anti–Open Grazing Law; Governor Samuel Ortom, Ahead, Ahead; We Support Anti-Open Grazing Law,’’ among others, assured the governor that they were behind his administration as far as the law was concerned.
Responding, the governor, who personally received the women alongside his wife, Eunice, and other top officials of his government, appreciated the courage demonstrated by the mothers. He emphasised that the law had come to stay.
Ortom posited that the law, which would help to preserve human lives, was a win-win for everyone. He encouraged cattle breeders in the state to embrace the ranching option, saying it’s in their interest.
The wife of the governor also said she was overwhelmed by the show of solidarity by women of the state.
At the moment, the level of compliance by the locals, many of whom have confined their livestock to pens within their residences, suggests that the law may have come to stay.
The law against open grazing came into effect on Wednesday, November 1.