Miyetti Allah vows to sue southern governors over anti-open grazing law

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, has vowed to sue governors in the southern states and the Middle Belt who have passed the anti-open grazing laws.

The group which has been vocal in condemning the decision of the southern governors to ban open grazing in their states, described the anti-open grazing law as “satanic and an attempt by the populist and corruption-driven agenda by visionless, inept and desperate politicians’ to destroy pastoralists’ means of livelihood.”

The Miyetti Allah, at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, presided by its National President, Alhaji Abdullahi Bode, and National Secretary, Engr. Saleh Alhassan, insisted that they will challenge the decision in court as they will not sit back and see their people suffer from the law.

The group also feared the law will destroy livestock production and send into poverty millions of people, like butchers, transporters, livestock dealers and consumers who depend on the livestock value chain.

At the news briefing with selected journalists which was a pre-event to the national stakeholders’ peace summit on the theme: “National Cohesion As a Panacea For Peaceful Coexistence Between Farmers And Herders In Nigeria,” Alhassan called on the National Assembly and President Muhammad Buhari to intervene and stop current attempts by some states governors to criminalise their means of economic livelihood of cattle rearing through the enactment of the laws.

“These oppressive laws and hostile policies being enacted by state governors are fundamentally going against the Fulani pastoralist culture, economic interest and constitutional rights.

Read also: Miyetti Allah urges lawmakers to intervene in states’ anti-grazing stance

“It is important to note that inter-state movement of pastoralists is analogous to inter-state commerce, which is an exclusive preserve of the legislative powers of the National Assembly under Item 62 of the Exclusive Legislative List.

“To this effect, any action taken by any state Assembly that is in conflict with the above section of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is null and void.

“These laws do not take into cognisance the sociology, economic, production system, climate variations and other push factors that are inherent in pastoralists’ movements across ecological zones.

“It is a common knowledge that Nigeria’s mode of agricultural practice is still primitive all over the country and are not consistent with global best practices.

“So why singling out the pastoralists, who have been suffering from the cumulative years of neglect in terms of development from both federal and state governments,” he added.

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