Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Thursday warned livestock owners in the state against infringements on the state’s anti-open grazing law.
In a statement on Thursday by his chief press secretary, Terver Akase, Mr Ortom called for proper ranching of animals and warned that defaulters of the law would be sanctioned.
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Irked by the sight of herds of cattle roaming Makurdi metropolis, the governor ordered the livestock guards to impound any found.
“The governor directed livestock guards to immediately impound the animals and take them to the quarantine unit where they will remain for seven days until the requisite fine is paid or auction them,” the statement said.
Ortom said that the law did not accord preferences to any individual or group, whether or not they were Benue indigenes.
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“Herders who refuse to keep their livestock in ranches will be prosecuted in accordance with provisions of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017,” the statement said.
The governor called on Benue residents to volunteer information regarding open grazing of animals to livestock guards, saying officers and men of the agency could not be everywhere.
