Bayelsa Governor Diri Orders Arrest, Prosecution Of Two Herders
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has ordered the full prosecution of two herdsmen he ordered their arrest on Thursday for breaching the state’s anti-open grazing law.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Daniel Alabrah, said the two herders were arrested at the Sampou junction along the East-West Road in the Kolokuma/Opokuma council area of the state when Diri’s convoy came in contact with the herders and their cattle.
Mr Alabrah said that the governor has directed the Chief Security Coordinator of the state, Gen. Eric Angaye (retd.), who was also in the convoy to ensure that the arrested herders were prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
Regretting the impunity with which some persons brazenly breach the law against open grazing in the state despite several warnings, he, therefore, ordered security agencies to clamp down on violators henceforth.
A few days ago, some farmers in Biseni and Zarama communities in the Yenagoa Local Government Area were killed by suspected herdsmen.
The PUNCH reports that earlier in a meeting on Thursday with the Arewa community in the state, youths of Yenizue-Epie community, traditional rulers and some stakeholders in Government House, Yenagoa, the governor restated the position that the ban on open grazing was still in force.
On March 10, 2021, Diri signed the “Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulation Law,” which criminalises open grazing in the state.
