Ondo Court Jails Herder 10 Years For Violating Anti-Grazing Law, Destroying N50m Farmland

A magistrates’ court sitting in Akure, Ondo state, has sentenced Dan Bello, a herder, to 10 years imprisonment for violating the state’s anti-open grazing law and and causing N50 million worth of damage to farmland.

Bello was found guilty on all five counts filed against him, including conspiracy, unlawful grazing, malicious damage, breach of peace, and illegal entry.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on October 27, 2023, when Bello grazed his cattle on a farm owned by the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), located along the Ago Panu–Ute Road in Owo LGA.

The cattle reportedly destroyed young palm trees and watermelon crops planted across two hectares of land.

P.O. Nwafor, the prosecuting counsel, told the court that Bello did not obtain a permit for grazing and encroached on land not designated for livestock under the Ondo State Livestock Rearing and Grazing Regulation Law, 2021.

The prosecution further alleged that the situation escalated when one of the herders, who fled during the initial incident, returned the following day with six others and set fire to the farm, destroying a motorcycle in the process.

A farm guard, who testified during the trial, said he apprehended Bello while the second herder escaped.

Delivering judgment, Damilola Sekoni, the presiding magistrate, held that the prosecution had presented credible and convincing evidence against the defendant.

Bello was sentenced to four years in prison on the first count without an option of fine, two years on the second count with an option of N50,000 fine, and one year each on the third and fourth counts.

On the fifth count, he was handed two years imprisonment without an option of fine. The sentences are to run concurrently.

However, the court said Bello could be discharged if he pays N2 million in compensation to the complainant.