{"id":168618,"date":"2025-07-07T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/enforcing-anti-open-grazing-law-impossible-without-federal-backing-gov-alia"},"modified":"2025-07-07T07:15:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T06:15:00","slug":"enforcing-anti-open-grazing-law-impossible-without-federal-backing-gov-alia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/enforcing-anti-open-grazing-law-impossible-without-federal-backing-gov-alia","title":{"rendered":"Enforcing anti-open grazing law impossible without federal backing \u2013 Gov Alia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has attributed the challenges in enforcing the state\u2019s anti-open grazing law to its status as a state-level legislation rather than a federal one.<\/p>\n

Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, in response to a statement issued by the Benue Advocacy Network, the governor said the law would be more effective if it received nationwide adoption, enabling federal enforcement mechanisms to back it.<\/p>\n

The Benue Advocacy Network, led by its president Enoch Ortese, had earlier expressed concern over the continued insecurity in rural areas, particularly the sustained attacks by armed herders, despite the existence of the anti-open grazing law. The group\u2019s statement, released to journalists in Makurdi on Sunday, also criticized the governor\u2019s handling of governance, transparency, and security issues.<\/p>\n

They raised questions about the surge in internally displaced persons (IDPs), contrary to Alia\u2019s campaign pledge to return them to their communities within his first 100 days in office.<\/p>\n

The group further accused the administration of failing to complete or inaugurate any developmental project in the past two years, and of not clearing outstanding salary arrears owed civil servants.<\/p>\n

The network also demanded full transparency in the state\u2019s financial dealings, including publication of revenue inflows and expenditures, disclosure of contract awards and associated costs, and clarification on the continued lack of autonomy for local government councils.<\/p>\n

Responding, Tersoo emphasized the governor\u2019s openness about the difficulties surrounding the anti-open grazing law\u2019s implementation. He revealed that enforcement is hampered because the Benue State Community Volunteer Guards (BSCVG), tasked with enforcing the law, are restricted to using basic weapons, while armed herdsmen operate with assault rifles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese herders are guarded by militias carrying AK-47 and AK-49 rifles while grazing,\u201d Tersoo stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven trained Mobile Police officers have lost their lives confronting them. So how do you expect the unarmed Community Guards to match such threats?\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that only federal security personnel have the authority to carry sophisticated arms, stressing that a law of such significance should be backed by federal legislation to ensure effective enforcement across state lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cPicture a scenario where our guards confront offenders, but the herders simply cross into Nasarawa State, which has no similar law. What can we realistically do in that case?\u201d The governor asked.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has attributed the challenges in enforcing the state\u2019s anti-open grazing law to its status as a state-level legislation rather than a federal one. Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, in response to a statement issued by the Benue Advocacy Network, the governor said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":168617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[1570,2140,254],"class_list":["post-168618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-nigeria-2","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nEnforcing anti-open grazing law impossible without federal backing \u2013 Gov Alia - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/enforcing-anti-open-grazing-law-impossible-without-federal-backing-gov-alia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Enforcing anti-open grazing law impossible without federal backing \u2013 Gov Alia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Nigeria. Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has attributed the challenges in enforcing the state\u2019s anti-open grazing law to its status as a state-level legislation rather than a federal one. 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