A 20-year-old herder, Jaro Alhaji Ilu, has bagged one year in prison for violating the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of Benue State.
Chief Magistrate Isaac Ajim, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced the herder, just as he advised those who want to engage in livestock business without ranches to go to states where there were no laws prohibiting open grazing.
However, the magistrate, who had earlier listened to a plea for leniency from the herder who hails from Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, gave him an option to pay N500,000.
He said the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt to warrant conviction and that the plea by the herder further confirmed that he was guilty.
He stressed that the law was enacted to prevent clashes between herders and farmers and was not targeted at any ethnic group or persons.
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