Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has warned animal rearers to stop open grazing because the law prohibiting it is still in effect. Alia issued the warning on Thursday evening, following the state Security Council meeting at the Government House in Makurdi.
The governor, speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, in the presence of top security agency heads in the state, emphasized the importance of stakeholders from various sectors ensuring the continued enforcement of the anti-grazing law.
He also stated that the council decided that no single approach should be used to resolve the issues surrounding armed herdsmen, emphasizing the importance of all stakeholders, particularly security agencies, enforcing and implementing the anti-open grazing law.
Alia urged stakeholders to be sincere when enforcing the law, emphasizing that the emphasis should be on preventing attacks rather than reacting to them.
The governor went on to say that efforts would be made to create a peaceful environment so that displaced people could return to their ancestral homes.