The Open Grazing Ban and Ranches Establishment Law of 2017 enforcement agency, the Livestock Guards, has had its operations paused for a two-week period by the Benue State Government to allow any herdsmen with cattle inside Benue territory to leave.
Governor Samuel Ortom made this announcement at the conclusion of the state security council meeting after more than 130 people were killed in a single week.
The action is intended to grant good fortune to everyone who claimed to have entered the state unaware that there was a ban against open grazing.
Additionally, he stated that the state’s security agencies have confirmed receiving President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to find those responsible for the state-wide mass killings. He urged the security agencies to move swiftly to fulfill this duty so that the victims of the attack can receive some measure of justice.
Meanwhile, the National President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Baba Othman Ngelzarma has condemned the recent killings in Benue adding that the perpetrators of the dastardly act are not their members.
Recall that some criminals attacked Umogidi village in Benue State recently, killing over 80 persons.
While describing the attack as an act of criminality, Ngelzarma said that similar attacks were carried out at the border of Benue and Nasarawa States where over 30 pastoralists were killed.