Barely 48 hours after the mass
burial of 73 victims of the recent herdsmen attacks in Benue, National Vice
President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Herders Association, Husaini Yusuf Bosso has warned
that more blood will be shed in the state if the anti-grazing law introduced by
Governor Ortom is not completely scrapped.
According to him, the herders have
been sorting out their issues with farmers in the state before the Ortom
government enacted the anti-grazing law without consulting stakeholders. He
said: “We, the association wrote a letter to him, even met him.
We told him that this law cannot
work. We told them that there is an international cattle route from Niger to
Eastern Nigeria. He said he will not allow cattle to pass through Benue state
even if it is the cattle route.
We told him that if he wants to
implement that law, he must provide a land for us to rent. He did not provide
any land for cattle herders. They have been in that state even before colonial
days and co-existing peacefully.
We advised him and he refused to
listen to us. We are not against that law but he has to provide a land for
these people before implementing such a law. If there is no land, there is a
problem.
The civilian Joint Task Force
that he introduced is inflicting pain on the Fulani herdsmen. They attack and
seize their animals. They drag them to the nearest police station where huge
amount of money is collected before they are granted bail.
This is the cause of this
problem. If you attack a cattle herder and collect his cattle, he has no choice
but to attack. The law is saying that herdsmen should not pass through the
state even if it’s a route to another area.
In the past, if there was damage
by the cattle, we had ways to settle the matter. When you damage a farm, you
have to beg the owner, if they refuse, you pay for the damages. .
.
This has worked for us for years
till Benue State decided to implement the anti-grazing law. We have challenged
the law in court and till court decides which way forward, Ortom will be held
responsible for any further bloodshed."
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ReplyDeleteImagine. These are the real terrorists.
ReplyDeleteDont mind Buhari! He is quick to proscribe IPOB but has been dumb about the Miyeti Allah terrorists!
ReplyDelete