The New Nigeria Initiative (NNI), a pressure group on Tuesday tasked Edo State government to take a cue from other states and urgently pass the law banning open grazing so as to curb the growing menace of herdsmen in the state.
The group, in a protest in Benin City, carried placards with various inscriptions such as “the south governors’ forum on anti-grazing law will stand, September 1, 2021 anti-grazing law agreement must be enforced, Domesticated VAT collection in Edo State”.
The protesters said they were moved by the horror purportedly perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen on peaceful and law-abiding people of Edo State, including the recent kidnapping of Dickson Imasogie, a PDP leader in the state.
Uwadiae Odigie, chairman of the group, said they have made several efforts to send related bills to the Edo State House of Assembly but yet to yield any positive outcome.
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Odigie said while other states have prohibited open grazing, Edo State has refused to get on the bandwagon as suspected herdsmen continue to unleash terror in the state.
“Now that many states within the South-South have responded to the September 1, 2021 deadline and the Fulani herdsmen are still ravaging our forests and highways with the fiercest brand of terrorism ever, with its attendant catastrophic consequences on our psyche, what is Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State waiting for?”Odigie queried.
He added, “We have also been mounting pressure on Marcus Onobun, Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly on the urgent need to pass the bill on ban of open grazing in Edo State but all efforts have been abortive.
“We are worried about the inability of the Edo state government to respond to herdsmen who have turned the state into a sanctuary for barbarism”.
