…Offender to Pay ₦1.7 Million Fine
The Oyo State Government, through its Taskforce Team under the Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority (OYRLEA), on Thursday apprehended a herdsman and nine cows for violating the state’s anti-open grazing law. The incident occurred near the motorcycle park, known as the 'Okada' park, adjacent to the Oyo State Secretariat gate, Agodi, Ibadan.
The taskforce team spotted the cows grazing openly along the Secretariat fence, in contravention of the anti-open grazing law of 2019. The herdsman and the cattle were monitored, apprehended, and an official report was made to the Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture and the Secretariat’s Parliament Police Division.
Following the arrest, additional personnel were deployed, and the cows were transported to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Chairperson of OYRLEA, Hon. Justice Aderonke Aderemi, emphasized the severity of the violation and ordered the immediate prosecution of the offender.
At the tribunal hearing, held the same day at the Ministry of Environment, the prosecuting counsel, N.Y. Aderibigbe, charged the offender, Nurudeen Semiu, with four counts under the Oyo State Anti-Open Grazing Law of 2019. Semiu pleaded guilty to two charges and not guilty to the remaining counts.
The presiding officer, Barrister Kunle Abimbola, delivered the judgment, imposing a fine of ₦1.7 million or a five-year prison sentence for the offense of open grazing.
