Former governor of Benue State Chief Samuel Ortom has attributed the influx of herdsmen and their cattle into the state to non-implementation of the 2017 Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.
This is even as he said he could no longer go to his farms in his hometown in Guma local government area which he said had been taken over by armed herders and their cattle.
Ortom who spoke on a live programme on Agate Radio and Television monitored by our correspondent in Makurdi said non- implementation of the law to arrest and prosecute violators had given room for armed terrorists to invade the state, kill people and occupy their places.
“I am a farmer and most of my farming is done locally in Benue, mostly in my village right from the time I was elected a local government chairman and as I speak to you, I can’t access my farms in my home town because armed herders have taken over.
“I want to warn those addressing the sustained attack on Benue communities because what is happening in the state is clearly land grabbing and occupation of ancestral homes by armed terrorists, and I believe with collective efforts we can push them out,” he said.
Ortom also commended President Bola Tinubu for allowing the will of the people on ranching to prevail against the wish of the previous administration which he said was gradually turning Nigeria into a Democratic Republic of Cows by insisting on cattle routes and open grazing.
While emphasising that he was ready whenever called to make inputs for the development of the state, Ortom said, “We need to swallow our pride, come together irrespective of political affiliations and work as a team to surmount the security challenges bedeviling the state.
“I want to also call on the federal government to disarm herders who are walking freely with AK-47 rifles without any arrest because if the government is allowing herdsmen to bear arms, the same thing should happen to farmers so that everyone will be on the same page, rather than allowing herders to bear arms and be killing farmers in their sleep and farms.”
