A Magistrates’ Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has sentenced a herdsman, Dan-Bello, to 10 years imprisonment for violating the state’s anti-open grazing law. Dan Bello, was alleged to have destroyed farm crops valued at N50 million.
He was arraigned on a five-count charge of conspiracy, unlawful grazing, malicious damage, breach of peace and illegal entry.
The Prosecuting counsel, P.O. Nwafor, said that Dan-Bello, on October 27, 2023, grazed his cattle on a farmland belonging to the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), located along Ago Panu–Ute Road in Owo Local Government Area.
Nwafor said that the cattle reportedly destroyed young palm trees and watermelons cultivated across two hectares.
She told the court that “the grazing occurred without a permit, and on land not designated for such use by the state government, in clear violation of the Ondo State Livestock Rearing and Grazing Regulation Law, 2021.
According to her, the incident escalated when one of the herders, who initially escaped, returned the following day with six others and allegedly set fire to the farm, destroying a motorcycle in the process.
Delivering judgement, the trial Magistrate, Damilola Sekoni, held that the evidence presented by the prosecution was credible and sufficient.
Sekoni thereafter sentenced Dan-Bello to four years imprisonment on the first count without an option of a fine; two years on the second count with an option of N50,000 fine; and one year each on the third and fourth counts.
Dan- Bello was further sentenced to two years without an option of fine on the fifth count.
The magistrate ordered that the sentences should run concurrently.
Sekoni, however, ruled that the convict would be discharged if he pays a compensation of N2 million to the complainant.
The trial Magistrate emphasised the importance of compliance with the anti-open grazing law.
He said that it was enacted to prevent clashes between farmers and herders in the state.
