Akeredolu approves bill to ban open grazing, create ranches for herdsmen in Ondo

The Ondo State Executive Council has approved a bill to formally ban open grazing in the state.
Governors of all six states in the south-west banned open grazing of cattle across the region last month.

The decision was taken following the divided opinion that trailed Governor Rotimi Akeredolu's directive for herdsmen to vacate Ondo's forest reserves due to security concerns.

The governor had said numerous accounts from kidnap victims had indicated that most kidnappers masqueraded as herdsmen and used the forest reserves as hideouts for their operations.

Ondo's Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Sir Charles Titiloye, announced on Thursday, February 11, 2021, that a bill for rearing and grazing of livestock has been approved to be forwarded to the State House of Assembly.

He said the bill contains the establishment of ranches and grazing areas with the sole objectives of preventing the destruction of farm crops and property occasioned by open grazing.

The bill also bans the bearing of guns and other ammunition by herders in the state.

"Any herder found with guns or other ammunition will be treated as a criminal and prosecuted under the law," he said.

Decades-long conflict over access and control of land between the nomadic cattle herders and local farming communities has led to thousands of lives lost and millions worth of property damage.

Titiloye explained that part of the objectives of the bill is to prevent these clashes and manage the environmental impact of open grazing.

He said the bill will also ensure healthy breeding of livestock and the employment of modern techniques of animal husbandry in the state.