Benue State House of Assembly on Thursday, May 4, 2017 passed the bill prohibiting open rearing and grazing of animals in any part of the state.
The bill titled, “A bill for a law to prohibit open rearing and grazing of livestock and provide for the establishment, regulation and control and other matters connected therewith, 2017” would now abolish the roaming of cows and the carrying of arms by herders in the state when assented to by the state governor.
Speaker of the House of Assembly, Terkimbi Ikyange, presided over the clause by clause deliberation on the bill before its final passage at the floor of the House following unanimous acceptance by the lawmakers.
Also, the Assembly minority leader, Alhaji Sule Audu, in an interview with Daily Trust shortly after the passage of the bill expressed hope that Governor Samuel Ortom would signed the bill into law without any delay.
The agitation for the bill to be passed by people of the state and some non-governmental organisations had in recent times led to several protests which forced the Assembly to expedite action after it held public hearing on the matter in March, 2017 across the three senatorial district of the state.
Ekiti State was the first in Nigeria to ban nomadic grazing late last year.
