Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State was in Oke Ako community, invaded by herdsmen on Friday night and announced a ban on open grazing and rearing of cattle in the state.
 
Governor Fayose, who was in Oke Ako to commiserate with the victims of the attacks, also announced the donation of N2.5million to the families of those killed in the attack just as he donated a pick-up van with security gadgets to the local vigilante group to aid their operational activities.
 
Governor Fayose said henceforth, anyone interested in cattle rearing in the state must get their own ranches and explained that a bill to make the open movement of cattle from one location to another in the state a criminal offence in the state would soon be sent to the House of Assembly.
“A bill to this effect will be sent to House of Assembly for passage into law to criminalise cattle owners whose cattle are found moving from one location to the other in the state.
 
Meanwhile, Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, on Monday, threw its weight behind what it described as the courageous move made by the Ekiti State governor, Mr Fayose, to ban cattle grazing in the state.
 
The Afenifere gave the backing in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin.
 
“We fully endorse this action which is in conformity with the resolution of the 2014 National Conference that cattle breeders must embrace RANCHING as against grazing reserves being canvassed in certain quarters,” Afenifere said.
 
The governor reiterated that activities of the Fulani herdsmen was inimical to the revival of agriculture in the country saying; “one wonders how Nigerians can go back to farming when those already in the farms are losing billions of naira worth of crops to destruction of their farmlands by the Fulani herdsmen and the Federal Government is not doing anything about it.”
 
Reacting to the governor’s announcement, the lawmaker representing Ikole Constituency 1 in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mrs Titilayo Akerele, assured the governor that the state Assembly would be waiting for his bill on the matter.
 
She said: “On behalf of the people of our constituency, I want to thank our governor for identifying with us in this community. This is our land and no Fulani herdsmen or Boko Haram can take it from us.”
 
The governor was accompanied on the sympathy visit to Oke Ako by heads of security agencies in the state, among others.

He warned that government would henceforth, confiscate any cattle seen anywhere in the state apart from a ranch created for them by their owners.
 
He decried the Fulani herdsmen’s attack on the people of Oke Ako and their destructive activities in other parts of the country and described them as “agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly.”
 
The governor said: “We will not leave our lands for Fulani herdsmen and in a system where the leadership of the country looks the other way while our people are being killed, we will have no option than to defend ourselves by whatever means.”
 
He said he had gone to Oke Ako “to commiserate with the people of Oke Ako over the murder of two of our people by these evil Fulani herdsmen. I am also here to assure that this will be the last time your community will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise.
 
“I have directed that cattle rearing and grazing should stop in Ekiti State and those interested in cattle farming should henceforth, do so in their own cattle ranch.