Ekiti lawmakers prescribe 6month jail sentence for erring herdsmen

Lawmakers at the Ekiti State House of Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill prescribing  a six-month jail term for any herdsmen who allows his livestock- Cattle, Sheep and Goat- to graze on undesignated land for ranches within the state.
The bill which is tagged "Prohibition of Cattle and Other Ruminants Grazing in Ekiti, 2016," seeks to regulate public grazing in the state.
Presiding over the plenary session, the Speaker of the House, Mr Kola Oluwawole, said the bill would now reduce the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state.
He said, "If the bill is eventually accented to by the Governor, it will now become a crime for any Cattle, Sheep and Goat to graze on undesignated land for ranches in Ekiti."
Part of the wording of the new bill states: "Anyone found violating the bill upon conviction shall be sentenced to six months in prison without option of fine.
"The Governor shall by an order, designate land in each of 16 Local Government Areas in the state in respect of which Cattle or Ruminants may be permitted to graze.
"No person shall cause or permit any Cow, Oxen, Sheep as well as Goat under his or her control to graze on any land in which the Governor has not designated as ranches."
The bill also forbids movement of Cattle and other ruminants after 6 p.m.

Related News

500
Leave a comment...