- The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, has described the newly enacted anti-open grazing law as a ‘time bomb’
- The herdsmen association stated that grazing law agenda is destroying herders means of livelihood, and registered their complete opposition to it
- The group lamented over the fact that they were not allowed to have any input in the anti-open grazing law, and insisted that they had no plans to attack Benue communities
The newly enacted anti-open grazing law has been described as a ‘time bomb’, by the umbrella group for Fulani herdsmen, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, The Cable reports.
The development was made public by the group, at a press conference in Kaduna on Monday, November 13.
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NAIJ.com gathers that the national president of the association, Abdullahi Bodejo, and Sale Alhassan, its secretary, stated that the law is an attempt to destroy the means of livelihood of the herdsmen.
They called on Ibrahim Idris, Inspector General of Police, to ensure that adequate protection was provided for the herders.
Bodejo stated: “The grazing law agenda is destroying herders means of livelihood, and we are appealing for immediate intervention to save the Fulani pastoralist from the total destruction of their means of livelihood by current trends from some state governors enacting segregational anti-grazing laws which target primarily at the economic livelihood of the herders.
“We are completely opposed to the anti-grazing law and we are worried about the possible crisis that may emerge if such laws are allowed to take effect.
“It is a negative law because it attempts to expel herdsmen from their grazing areas for ages. Besides, that of Benue anti-grazing law, no herder was involved during the cause of its preparation, to get their input.
“To us, ensuring security of citizens should be the priority of governance; but this anti-grazing law is nothing but a time bomb if not addressed with wisdom.
“It is a national challenge that requires a national intervention by the government; because it is capable of creating serious conflicts on the land resources."
Bodejo further insisted that the herdsmen had no plans to attack communities in Benue.
He stated: “We have continued to appeal to our members to be law abiding and I want to say categorically that the rumours that herdsmen are planning to attack communities in Benue state is not true and must be ignored by well meaning Nigerians.
“We will continue to support federal government policies on crop and animal farming; particularly on the agro rangers, which is aimed at providing security for all categories of farmers.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state told the United Nations that his state is one of the most affected in the attacks carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria.
Ortom said within three years of rampaging Fulani herdsmen attacks in the state, at least 1,878 residents have been killed while 200 are still missing.
Southern Kaduna killings, Part 2 - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng