The Senate noted with dismay the lingering conflicts between farmers and cattle herdsmen in the country and has resolved to conduct a public hearing with a view to reaching a final resolution of the matter. In a motion titled “Tackling the Perennial Conflicts between Farmers and Cattle herdsmen” on Thursday, 3^rd March, 2016, Sen. Chukwuka Utazi [PDP:Enugu] expressed concern over the conflict between farmers in various parts of the country and nomadic cattle herdsmen noting that it  poses grave danger to national security, harmonious communal life and national unity.

In the motion, Sen. Utazi expressed worries that tales of herdsmen being heavily armed with modern firearms concealed among their grazing cattle showed colossal security breach. He noted that he was concerned over reports that the herdsmen lead their cattle to graze across farms and lands of settled farm owners indiscriminately, thereby leaving devastations and economic wastages behind. Sen. Utazi suggested that ranches and grazing reserves be established rather than grazing routes for cattle as it might encourage the violation of the rights of settled land owners and farmers whose crops and communities bear the adverse effect of nomadic cattle grazing.

Supporting the motion Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekwerenmadu [PDP:Enugu] described the issue as a recurring ‘‘West African problem’’ and emphasized the need for the Senate to boldly address such attacks on livelihoods. Contributing to the motion, Sen. Barnabas Gemade [APC:Benue] recalled that the 7^th Assembly had made resolutions in this respect and that those resolutions should be implemented before encouraging the establishment of ranches to curb the problem, while Sen. Abba Bukar Ibrahim [APC:Yobe] recommended the settling of the herdsmen in areas of their choice. Also lending his voice to the motion, Sen. La’ah Danjuma [PDP:Kaduna] emotionally stated that about 300 persons in his community had died within a 2 day period in the conflict between farmers and cattle herdsmen.

In addition to conducting a public hearing on the matter, the Senate resolved among others to:

– Urge security agencies to check proliferation of arms and ammunition that makes heavily and light arms readily  available.

– Urge cattle owners to ensure that the grazing of their cattle does not infringe on the rights of farming communities.

– Urge the government to establish ranches and grazing reserves across the country and adopt strategies to enable nomadic cattle handlers settle to modern system of livestock keeping.