58 cows arrested as Oyo govt moves against open grazing

The Oyo State Government has reiterated its commitment to enforcing the law prohibiting open grazing across the state, stating that the legislation remains fully in effect.

This was made known by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, during an inter-ministerial press briefing held in Ibadan on Thursday.

Olaleye disclosed that over the past two years, more than 58 cows have been seized for contravening the law, and several herders have been prosecuted.

The anti-open grazing law was passed by the Oyo State House of Assembly in 2019 and subsequently signed into law by Governor Seyi Makinde.

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Reinforcing the government’s position, Olaleye emphasized that violators would face legal consequences. “Oyo is the safest for farmers. We have enough arable farmlands. We have the highest number of Amotekun personnel. The state is now safe for farmers who have the intention to go into commercial farming,” he said.

“More than 58 cows have been arrested in the last two years. We have imposed fines on many herdsmen for violating the law. We have charged some herdsmen to court,” he added.

The commissioner also highlighted efforts to bolster security for farmers, including the establishment of a security post at the Ijaye Farm Settlement.

“The anti-open grazing law is still in force. We have constructed a security post at Ijaye Farm Settlement. So, no farmer has left the Ijaye Farm Settlement,” Olaleye noted.

He further revealed that discussions are ongoing with certain communities to allocate underutilized land for agricultural use as part of the state’s broader food security strategy.
“In order to ensure food security, we have also talked with some communities to give us their lands they are not using for us to use for agricultural production,” he said.