The Catholic Bishop of the Katsina-Ala Catholic Diocese in Benue State, Isaac Dugu, has cried out over the ceaseless killings and displacement of people in the state by Fulani herdsmen.
He stated this on Sunday during a sermon at a church function in Katsina-Ala.
He inquired about the fate of the anti-open grazing law that was in force during the administration of the immediate past governor, Chief Samuel Ortom.
Bishop Dugu said the anti-open grazing law was effective in curtailing the atrocities of the herdsmen to a great degree, relative to the support it enjoyed from high quarters at the time.
He further called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to act within seven days to stop the killings or risk having almost all of the people in the state killed, asking rhetorically who the governor would govern if all the people were gone.
Recall that the Livestock Guards, who were vested with the mandate to enforce the anti-open grazing law, have been disbanded by the Alia administration.
The trucks they used for tracking, arresting, and taking into custody livestock found in violation of the open grazing ban have been converted into haulage trucks for the state-owned Benue Links transport outfit.
And so, the killings continue, and the displacement and occupation of Benue lands expand even more.