Bayelsa State Govt. bans Open Grazing, signs Violence Against Person Prohibition Act

As part of efforts to curb insecurity and avoid clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Bayelsa State, Governor Douye Diri has signed into law the Livestock breeding, Rearing, and Marketing Regulation Law, 2O21.

At the state’s weekly Executive Council meeting in Yenagoa, the State government also domesticated the Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP, Act to protect the rights of its citizens particularly women and children against human rights abuses.

Nigeria in recent times has witnessed rising tensions due to herdsmen and farmers’ clashes.

To avert the occurrence of such security challenges in the Bayelsa state, the law regulating open grazing became necessary just as governor Douye Diri reeled out the highlights of the law shortly after appending his signature to the document.

Also at the EXCO meeting, a bill seeking to safeguard the rights of vulnerable persons and prosecute offenders of human rights was signed into law.

To some key actors, the domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act by the state is a major achievement in winning the war against gender-based violence among other human rights offences.

VAPP has been in existence about six years ago in Nigeria as it was domesticated by the federal government in 2015 with all states of the federation, expected to domesticate it.