December 20, 2024
By Samuel Ogunsona
The Oyo State Government has taken a bold step in enforcing the Anti-Open Grazing Law, apprehending a herdsman and his cattle for violating the law.
The Taskforce Team of the Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority (OYRLEA) caught nine cows grazing openly near the Oyo State Secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan.
The OYRLEA taskforce promptly reported the violation to the Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture and the State’s Parliament Police Division.
Additional personnel were deployed, and the cows were taken to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Hon. Justice Aderonke Aderemi, Chairperson of the Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority, emphasized that the offense was a clear violation of the state’s anti-open grazing law established in 2019.
She ordered the prosecution of the offender without delay.
The offender, Nurudeen Semiu, was arraigned and charged with four counts drawn from the anti-open grazing law of Oyo State, 2019.
Semiu pleaded guilty to the first two charges and not guilty to the others.
After the trial, the presiding officer, Barrister Kunle Abimbola, pronounced judgment, offering the offender the option of a #1,700,000 fine or five years imprisonment.
