Herdsmen and
farmers have clashed in some communities of Benue State following the full
implementation of the state anti-open grazing law. This is coming barely th
ree
days of its implementation.
A source
told The Guardian that suspected herdsmen invaded and attacked some communities
in Logo Local Council of the state, killing a 40-year-old Ortse Kwaghdoo and
injuring a 70-year-old Hinger Akaa.
A similar
incidence was also said to have occurred at Orukan in Ogbadibo Local Council of
the state yesterday morning where one person was shot dead, leaving three
others with gunshot injuries.
The Police
Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moses Yamu, who confirmed the incident in
Orukan, said the skirmish was between the herdsmen and the vigilante group who
insisted on enforcing the law.
At Logo
Local Council, The Guardian learnt that a few days to full commencement of the
implementation of the law, there was a massive influx of strange herdsmen and
their cattle into Gaambe-Tiev area and they settled in Ukemberagya/Tswarev
council ward at Zaki Hemem, Tyo-Afia, Tse Gusa, Tse Agir, Ordughga Nagwa,
Tsafa, Chia Orabum and Jootar axis.
The herdsmen
and their cattle also settled in Mbagber ward, particularly at Gov-Uwev, while
in Tombo Council ward, they were at Azege, Anyibe and Fanu axis.
An indigene
of Gaambe Tiev, who spoke to The Guardian, appealed to the authorities to
mobilise security agents to the border areas to check further skirmishes with
the herdsmen.
He expressed
fears that the marauders will ravage their crops now that farmers are yet to
harvest their crops.
Special
Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on Security, Col. Edwin Jando (rtd.) who is
also the state Chairman, Task Force on Implementation of Anti-Open Grazing Law,
said the persons attacked were fishing when the herdsmen struck and killed one
person, adding that one of the herdsmen has been arrested.
Jando said:
“Yes, there was an attack in Logo but we have arrested the suspected herdsman.
So, there is no panic in the area as we speak. Everything is calm and we are on
top of the situation.”
But,
commenting on the implementation of the anti-grazing law, the national
coordinator of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN),
Garus Gololo said most of their members were going out of Benue, because they
could no longer move freely.
He said
their cattle were dying, as there is no food and water for them, maintaining
that the state government made no provisions for land anywhere, as the lands
have been leased to his members to ranch.
Although,
there is widespread celebration by the Benue people over the government’s giant
strides in implementing the law, people living along border lines, which
constitute flash points of attack over the years, are not sleeping with their
two eyes closed due to the fear of attacks by the herders who are very volatile
and unpredictable.
The fear is
mostly in communities bordering Nasarawa, Taraba, Kogi and Cameroon, which are
already full of the herdsmen and their cattle.
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