By Amos Aar
BENUE State Governor, Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia, has maintained that the Operation Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017 enacted by the immediate past administration in the state is still in force.
Governor Alia, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, shortly after a meeting of the State Security Council (SEC) last Thursday when he also inaugurated state and local government assets recovery committees at Government House, Makurdi, tasked stakeholders in the various sectors to ensure the enforcement of the anti-open grazing law that it has come to stay.
The governor disclosed that SEC resolved to set up a team to be composed of representatives from the State Security Service, traditional rulers, immigration, Benue Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Office of the Security Adviser to identify the aims of Fulani herders and report back to the Security Council within three weeks.
“All stakeholders should know that anti-open grazing law is still in existence in Benue State and all must respect this fact and abide by same,” the stressed, adding that SEC resolved that no single approach should be used in settling the issues around armed herdsmen.
He said there is the need for all stakeholders, especially security agencies, to enforce and implement the anti-open grazing law.
Rev. Fr Alia urged the stakeholders to ensure sincerity during enforcement of the law while emphasis should be on prevention of attacks instead of a reactionary approach.
The governor added that efforts would be made to ensure a peaceful environment in order to return displaced people to their ancestral homes.
