A group known as ‘Defenders of Democracy’ raised the alarm on Saturday over an alleged plan by the Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, to repeal the State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranch Establishment Law of 2017, also known as the Anti-Open Grazing Law.
The group alleged that the part meant to repeal the law was smuggled into the “Benue State Civil Protection Guards (Establishment) Law 2024” after deliberations at some public hearings on the yet-to-be-established law last Thursday.
In a statement made available to our correspondent on Saturday, President Amos Uchir alleged that the proposed law, when finally enacted, would automatically lead to the repeal of the law establishing the Benue State Community Volunteer Guards and Livestock Guards.
The group appealed to traditional rulers, civil society groups, and all other lovers of Benue State to rise up and resist the move to repeal the law, describing it as an agenda to give Fulani herders a soft landing in Benue State.
According to the president of the group, Alia allegedly wants to replace the open grazing law with a law that is meant to accommodate Fulani pastoralists and promote the governor’s agenda of “peaceful coexistence between herdsmen and farmers in the state.”
He said, “All patriotic sons and daughters of the state must rise up and resist the repeal of the ban on open grazing! Governor Alia should rather be told to uphold and fully enforce that law!
“This land in Benue State does not belong to Fulanis, and any attempt to take our lands and give them to them (Fulani) is unacceptable and must be rejected!” the group said.
“What is most shocking to us as a pro-democracy group is the clandestine manner in which Governor Alia is going about his plan to get the law repealed without anyone’s notice to prevent stiff resistance from Benue people.
“The Alia administration started by announcing that it would launch a new security outfit at the end of this month (May 2024), but not many people knew the implications of that declaration.
“Meanwhile, the office of the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order secretly drafted a bill for the creation of “Benue State Civil Protection Guards (Establishment) Law 2024.”.
“Section 12 of the proposed law clearly states that when the law for the establishment of Civil Protection Guards comes into effect, the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranch Establishment Law of 2017 as well as the Law Establishing Community Volunteer Guards will stand repealed!
“But sensing that asking the Benue State House of Assembly to deliberate on a bill that seeks to repeal the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranch Establishment Law alone would attract wide condemnations,.
“Governor Alia and his team cleverly drafted 3 other bills and sent them to the House of Assembly with which to go and hold public hearings, which were held on Thursday, May 23rd, in Katsina-Ala for Zone A, Gboko for Zone B and Otukpo for Zone C.
“Section 12 of the Benue State Civil Protection Guards Bill, 2024, is redrafted to read as follows:
By the coming into effect of this law, the Community Volunteer Guards and the Livestock Guards are hereby merged to operate as Civil Protection Guards as provided under this law.
Reacting, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Fidelis Mnyim, told our correspondent on Sunday that the executive bill is not meant to repeal the anti-open grazing law and added that the livestock guards and Benue State Community Volunteer Guards are to merge with the Civil Protection Guard.
He said that the disputed section 12 of the bill had been redrafted to read as follows: ‘By the coming into effect of this law, the Community Volunteer Guards and the Livestock Guards are hereby merged to operate as Civil Protection Guards as provided under this law.
The State Assembly Majority Leader of the Assembly, Sateer Teeser, also said, “We are passing the bill on Monday. When we pass it, people will see whether there is a repeal of the anti-open grazing law.
“We don’t want to join the issue with anyone, we have fulfilled our oversight, the bill is from the executive, we have presented the bill to the public, we have collected their views; and the house will pass the bill on Monday.
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