GOVERNOR Douye Diri detained two herders and their cattle yesterday at the Sampou intersection on the East-West Road in the Bayelsa State’s Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area.
He halted his convoy in order to apprehend the herders, who allegedly broke the state’s anti- open grazing.
This was said in a press release that was signed by Daniel Alabrah, his chief press secretary after farmers in the communities of Biseni and Zarama in the Yenagoa Local Government Area were reportedly killed by herdsmen, leading to terror throughout the state.
Diri ordered the security services to crack down on anyone breaking the state’s ban on open grazing.
The governor had on March 10, 2021, signed the “Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulation Law, stating that henceforth, law enforcement agencies must ensure that they apply the full weight of the law on violators”.
He told the state’s chief security coordinator, Gen. Eric Angaye (retired), who was also in the convoy, to make sure the arrested herders were prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
Earlier, at a meeting yesterday with the state’s Arewa community, youths of the Yenizue-Epie community, traditional leaders, and some stakeholder groups, he expressed outrage that some people were still brazenly breaking the law against open grazing.
