After the passage of anti-open grazing laws in Ekiti and Benue states, other states like Ebonyi, Ondo, Abia, Imo and Ogun are moving to introduce similar laws to curb clashes between herdsmen and farmers within their respective boundaries.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH from the states showed that moves to introduce anti-open grazing laws were at various stages, with the bill having already passed second reading in Ogun State.
A 2015 Global Terrorism Index pushed Fulani militants to the fourth position on the list of deadliest militant groups in the world with a record killing of 1,229 people in 2014 alone. Similarly, a 2017 research by SBM Intelligence said the death toll from pastoral conflicts had been rising from 2015 and stood at nearly 5,000, “rivalling the killings by Boko Haram insurgents per year.”
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it was already proposing a similar bill that would address the attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen on local farmers.
The Oke Ogun area of the state is home to some Fulani herdsmen who have frequently been accused of attacking farmers, raping their wives and daughters and destroying farmlands through grazing.
The state’s Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, said that although the state government had established some committees to resolve disputes between farmers and herdsmen, an executive bill would soon be sent to the state House of Assembly to check the activities of the latter.
Arulogun said, “The issue of herdsmen attacks on farmers and communities is a national issue. We have pockets of such problem in Oke Ogun area of Oyo State.
“I can confirm to you that there is an executive bill that will soon be transmitted to the state House of Assembly. This will address the frequent clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state.”
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