105 cows arrested in Benue over open grazing

No fewer than 105 cows and a herd of sheep were arrested by officials of the Benue State Livestock Guards for grazing openly near Akawe Torkula College of Advanced and Professional Studies, Makurdi.

Confirming the Development, Commander of the Guards, Mr. Linus Zaki, disclosed that a herder named Kunje Saija was also arrested in the course of the operation.

This came as suspected armed herdsmen murdered one Iorwuese Myaga, a father of seven in Anawah settlement, Ukemberagya Gaambe-Tiev Logo Logo local government area of the state.

The murder of Myaga came less than one week after troops of the joint military Operation Whirl Stroke, engaged armed militant herdsmen in a fierce gun battle in Anyiibe in the same Logo Local Government Area.

According to a source in the community, the victim was killed by the armed herders in his farm where he had gone to harvest his corn.

“He went to his farm to harvest his corn when he was waylaid by armed herdsmen, who shot him at close range on the neck with the bullet piercing his gullet through the stomach, after which they fled the scene,” he said.

However, speaking on the arrest of the animals, Zaki said: “In accordance with the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, the impounded cows will be quarantined for seven days before being auctioned, if the owners fail to pay the fines stipulated by the law.”

He cautioned herdsmen against the consequences of flouting the law, stressing the need for ranching in the state.

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