Grazing: Fayose Inaugurates Enforcement Marshals.

The governor who disclosed that the state government would collaborate with the police and other security agencies to regulate the activities of armed herdsmen, said the marshals, who are not to carry arms would rely on agencies empowered by law to carry arms in discharging their duties.

Speaking during the inauguration  in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Governor Fayose warned that cattle found being grazed after 6pm across the state would be confiscated by the state government.

While noting that 10,000 cattle could not compensate for the life of human being lost to conflict between herdsmen and local farmers, he said  there must be a stop to the menace of innocent people being killed and livelihood of farmers taken away,

The governor who reminded that the new grazing law was in the interest of cattle rearers too, as their operations would be streamlined said, “We have a right to life and to survive and holding things for our survival especially peasant farmers, whose means of livelihood are taken away by cattle feeding on their crops. If the gains of peasant farmers are taken away in a jiffy, that is condemneable. We will bring to permanent end, the situation whereby some people take away the means of livelihood of others.

“On August 29, 2016, the Anti-Grazing Bill was passed by the House of Assembly and the bill was signed into law by me on August 30. Some people go as far as grazing in the night when farmers are no longer in their farms. Any cattle found grazing after the time stipulated by the law will be consficated by the  government.Such cattle will be sold or killed on the spot and shared to people as part of our Stomach Infrassructure programme,” he said.

The governor added that the phone numbers of the marshals would be made public and warned the marshals against going beyond their mandate.

“This is not an opportunity to harass or intimidate innocent people. You are to enforce the law and not to break it. Anybody found going beyond his bounds would be dealth with accordingly,” he stressed.