Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa State, on Thursday, arrested two herdsmen and their cattle at the Sampou junction along the East-West Road in the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state.
He stopped his convoy to apprehend the herders for allegedly breaching the state’s anti-open grazing law.
This was conveyed in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah. There had been fear in the state following the killing of farmers in Biseni and Zarama communities in the Yenagoa Local Government Area allegedly by herdsmen.
Diri directed security agencies to clamp down on violators of the state’s anti-open grazing law.
He expressed anger that despite several warnings, some persons were still brazenly breaching the law against open grazing in the state.
The governor had on March 10, 2021, signed the “Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulation Law, stating that henceforth, law enforcement agencies must ensure that they apply the full weight of the law on violators.
He directed the state Chief Security Coordinator, 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.
Earlier, at 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.
