Anti-grazing law fallout: Thousands cattle flood Benue communities
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Thousands of cattle and several herders have allegedly invaded Adzage community in Logo Local Government area of Benue State following the implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing law which began in the state, last Wednesday.
Daily Sun gathered from sources in the area that one person, Ortse Kwaghdoo was killed while another, a septuagenarian, Hingir Akaa was brutally wounded by the herders who had flooded the area with area with their cattle in the last four days.
Our source, Joseph Anawa who spoke with our correspondent on phone said several houses were burnt till early hours of Friday by the invading Fulani herdsmen who also spared no farmlands as they grazed their cattle on the farms of the villagers with reckless abandon.
Anawa who recalled that Kwaghdoo was killed while he was fishing by the river said the situation had sent fears in the heart of the people who could no longer go to their farms for fear of being attacked or even killed by the well armed.
The community leader who listed the affected communities to include Tse-Gi, Tse-Jibo, Tse-Abiem, Tse-Aku, Tyo-Affiah and Tse-Ajim however noted that there were no casualties yet apart from the killing of Kwaghdoo.
“There is no casualty for now, apart from the killing on Thursday but there are a lot of people machetted. Many have run away into
the bush with varying degrees of injuries, their cattle have also destroyed farm crops like yam, rice, guinea corn, soya beans.”
“You know that the settlement attacked now had been attacked before, so what the villagers did was to build thatched houses all which have been burnt down again.”
Anawa who lamented that despite the anti open grazing law in the state, the herders were still grazing their cattle freely in the council area said, “the anti grazing law is not effective in this area, because there is nobody to enforce the new law.
“There are no security men on ground aside the usual ones and the vigilante members are handicapped because the herdsmen are armed with sophisticated weapons.”
The community leader claimed, ‘ironically, Taraba state had deployed detachment of security men in two of their towns located along
Benue/Taraba border, that is Arufu and Akwara leaving the entire Logo and other boundary communities in Benue state’.
Also confirming the latest incident in the council, chairman of the local government, Hon. Richard Nyajo said six settlements in the council area had been attacked adding that cattle are still grazing in the council area despite the new law.
He added that policemen have been deployed to the council area to beef up security.
When contacted, state Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) ASP, Moses Yamu said he was not aware of another attack on the said communities in the local government area.
Yams who disclosed that security men have been deployed to all the flash points within the state to beef up security explained that the killing of a man on Thursday morning at a fish pond in the council area was done while the herdsmen were moving out of the state.
“Unlike the previous attacks when the herdsmen would invade communities and attack, the incident on Thursday was that the herdsmen were moving away from the state as a result of the anti grazing law and met the man fishing and killed him”.
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