Herdsmen: Why Delta has not adopted anti-grazing policy – Okowa

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, yesterday in Asaba, said the state will not adopt the anti-open grazing policy as solution to the incessant clashes between nomadic herdsmen and sedentary farmers.

Okowa said there were better ways of dealing with the clashes, which according to him, have been yielding results. He noted that what was required was to improve on the existing security architecture and synergy between the relevant stakeholders.

Speaking while presenting 35 new Hilux vans to security agencies in the state, the governor also stated that the state does not need a uniform security mechanism like Amotekun in South West.

According to him, there was need to be careful in order not to adopt laws that would be at variance with the laws of the Federal Government, adding that the South West states have studied their peculiar security situation and decided to adopted what was best for them.

He emphasised the need to strengthen community policing, and commended the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, for being at the forefront in advocating community policing as the best security mechanism to address crime across the country.

Okowa stated that Delta was not in isolation as far as the security challenges affecting Nigeria were concerned, adding, however, that incidents of herders/farmers’ clashes, armed robbery, kidnapping and cultism were on the decline in the last few months.