Court dismisses Miyetti Allah’s application challenging prohibition of open grazing

Justuce Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday dismissed a suit filed by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore challenging and seeking to restrain the 2017 Open Grazing Prohibition and Establishment Law passed by the Benue State House of Assembly.

Abang, in a judgement he delivered on Thursday in the suit marked as FHC/ABJ/CS/527/2017 awarded a cost of N100, 000 against the plaintiff to be paid to all the 14 defendants before any other step can be taken in the suit.

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore had earlier approached the court with the suit seeking an order of mandatory injunction restraining the Benue State government from implementing the law as passed by the Benue State House of Assembly.

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Justice Abang predicated his decision on the failure of the plaintiff to comply with an earlier order of the court delivered 19 months ago directing them to file an amended originating summons.

The Benue State government had on November 1, 2017, officially effected its ban on open grazing throughout the state.

This was before Governor Samuel Ortom on May 22, 2019, signed the anti-open grazing and anti-kidnapping, abduction, cultism and terrorism bills into law.

According to the governor, the anti-grazing law would put to an end to incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Benue State.

He lamented the destruction of lives and property in clashes involving farmers and herdsmen over the years and promised to promote ranching since it had proved to be the best way of rearing livestock globally.