Over 100 security personnel killed enforcing anti-grazing law in Benue – Ortom

The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has disclosed that over 100 security operatives have lost their lives in the course of enforcing the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranching Establishment Law of 2017.

Governor Ortom disclosed on Tuesday, in Makurdi, the state capital, while receiving the new Commissioner of Police, Mr Tunji Akingbola, Channels report.

He further decried the failure of the Federal Government to clamp down on foreign Fulani herdsmen bearing weapons and posing security threats to the lives and safety of security forces and Nigerians in general.

He said, “Why do we need to allow Fulani from all these countries to come and destroy our land? That is the point we are saying. They have given unnecessary stress and risks to our security agencies in Nigeria.

“I say more than 100 security men have been killed in the course of providing security for lives and properties in Benue State in the course of implementing this our law.”

According to the governor, the affected victims include personnel of the army, police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

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He commended security agencies for putting in their best in safeguarding lives in the state, especially as it regards tackling the killings from herdsmen.

Ortom said that the Constitution empowers states to enact laws as long as it does not conflict with those existing laws in the country and as such, the anti-grazing laws enacted by the states governments were not unconstitutional.

He also took a swipe at the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) for challenging state governments over the anti-open grazing laws in their respective domains.

“Tell me why Miyetti Allah, a terrorist organisation who has taken responsibility for killings will come to challenge governors that laws shouldn’t have been made.

“We have not committed any evil, we have done the right thing by ensuring we are law-abiding. That was why we legislated and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that we are free to make laws as a state as long as it does not conflict with the provision of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Ortom said.