Group urges Edo govt to enact anti-grazing law

A group, the New Nigeria Initiative on Tuesday urged the Edo State government to take a cue from other states and urgently pass the law banning open grazing to curb the growing menace of herdsmen in the state.

The group, during a protest in Benin, bore placards with various inscriptions such as “The South-South governors forum on anti-grazing law will stand, September 1, 2021, anti-grazing law agreement must be enforced, Domesticated VAT collection in Edo State.”

The protesters said they were moved by the horror purportedly perpetrated by herdsmen on peaceful and law-abiding people of Edo State, including the recent kidnapping of Dickson Imasogie, a PDP leader in the State.

The chairman of the group, Uwadiae Odigie, said they have made several efforts to send a related bill to the Edo State House of Assembly but have yet to yield any positive outcome.

“Now that many states within the South-South have responded to the September 1, 2021 deadline and the herdsmen are still ravaging our forests and highways with the fiercest brand of terrorism ever, with its attendant catastrophic consequences on our psyche, what is Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State waiting for.

“We have also been mounting pressure on Marcus Onobun, Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly on the urgent need to pass the bill on the ban of open grazing in Edo State but all efforts have been abortive. We are worried about the inability of the Edo State government to respond to herdsmen who have turned the state into a sanctuary for barbarism,” he said.