Herdsmen still graze cows on FCT roads despite Minister’s order

Sultan

Despite an order by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammed Bello, directing Fulani herdsmen in Abuja to stop the grazing of their cattle on the roads, the herdsmen have continued to do so.

The Minister had directed the Abuja Environmental Protection Board and the FCT Task Force Team on Environment to ensure that herdsmen do not graze on the road.

But an investigation by Punch on Tuesday revealed that the herdsmen sometimes cause traffic while grazing and moving their cattle along the roads.

 

It was noticed that some herders on Tuesday were grazing their cattle along the Abuja-Zuba Expressway.

Another set of herdsmen were also seen by Setraco Gate, Gwarimpa as well as along the Airport Bypass, Jabi.

 

The Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Olutoyin Olanipekun, however, said the agency has been complying with the directive.

She said seven cows and 23 sheep were seized for grazing in the city, adding that the owners were fined by the mobile court before the animals were released.

Olanipekun also said she had a meeting with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, where she was promised that the herdsmen will take their cattle off the roads.

“The association said we should give them time to educate their members, but since then, we have not heard from them and all efforts to reach them has not been successful, but we have been seeing herdsmen grazing their livestock and we have been confiscating the animals and charging their owners to court,” she stated.

She said her agency has been challenged by the fact that the herdsmen are not stationed at a particular area.

She added, “One of the challenges we are facing is that the herders are nomadic and are very mobile. When we get a signal that they are at a particular location, by the time our men would come with the truck to evacuate the animals, the herders would have moved to another location and tracing them is sometimes difficult.”

One comment

  1. Comment:Why should foreigners disobey the highest authority.

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