By Emma Ogbuehi
Contrary to claims by Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma that there is no law forbidding open grazing by herders in the state, facts available to TheNiche, indicate that he is not straight on the matter. In fact, there is an existing law against open grazing of cattle in restricted areas of the state. The law titled, “Imo State of Nigeria Law No 9, 2006”, passed by the State House of Assembly, emphatically listed areas forbidden for pastoralists from trespass and corresponding fines in the event of non-adherence.
Uzodinma caused a stir when few days to the September 1, 2021 target set by the 17 southern governors for states in the region to enact anti-open grazing legislation, he openly went against the agreement reached with his colleagues, arguing that there is no law forbidding open grazing in the state.
The governor, who spoke with newsmen after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, argued that though there is no anti-grazing law in the state, his government was trying to regulate grazing activities through collaboration between the farmers and herders.
“I don’t have any law in Imo State for anti-grazing. But what we have done is that we are regulating grazing activities in Imo State under a partnership between our farmers and herders. They have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in my office and agreed to work together. And both parties are going about their businesses without interfering or causing any grievance or anger to each other”, he declared.
But findings by TheNiche have proved the governor wrong. According to facts, there is an existing law to that effect which may be cited as the Prohibition of Grazing of Cattle in Restricted Areas in Imo state Law, 2006. The restricted areas as envisaged by the law mean areas within the state that are cultivated, residential and commercial.
Section 3 of the law, lists Owerri capital Territory and other areas regarded as restricted as parts of the state that herders should not take their herd to. Section 4 cautions against herdsmen taking their cattle to cultivated areas. The law stipulates that any person who contravenes the prescriptions is liable to the fine not less than N50,000 and or pay compensations to owner of the destroyed farm land, as may be prescribed by a magistrate court.
Lawyers who spoke to our reporter on the issue, blamed the governor for not being at home with the facts of the matter. They accused him of deliberately twisting facts or lacking the political will to implement the extant law on the subject and advised him to stop claiming that there is no legal instrument to that effect.
The 17 governors of the southern states had in a meeting held in Lagos on July 5, 2021, urged states in the region to ensure that the legislation against open grazing of cattle was put in place on or before September 1.
Following the governors’ resolution, Delta, Osun, Ondo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Enugu state governments had moved to enact anti-open grazing laws. The law was already operational in Ogun, Abia, Oyo, Ekiti, and Ebonyi states, before the governors’ resolution.
The law which Uzodimma denies:
