By
Ifenna Leonard Azomani
Abstract
In Nigeria, the increased frequency, ferocity and deadliness of conflicts between farmers and herders for land and grazing resources and their spread from the middle belt region to other regions and states of the country, including Delta State, has led states to enact Anti-Open Grazing Laws. The Delta State Government enacted the Delta State Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulation Law, 2021, as the Anti-Open Grazing Law of Delta State, 2021. Using the doctrinal research method, this paper conducts an overview of these laws, in relation to the issues and challenges of open grazing facing Delta State, Nigeria, and finds that the farmers-herders clashes are due mainly to the struggle for scarce land and grazing resources, leading to the North-South migration by herders and livestock for open grazing, which increases the propensity and capacity for conflict between these groups, the refusal of the herders to abide by the Anti-Open Grazing Law and the lack of support by the federal government and the security agencies for the enforcement of the law in Delta State. This paper also finds that herders have continued to engage in open grazing with great impunity across Delta State, in defiance of the Anti-Open Grazing Law, with rising incidences of farmers-herders clashes and other crimes such as kidnapping for ransom in Delta State. This paper recommends a strict implementation of the Delta State Anti-Open Grazing Law, 2021, while also advocating for the integration of modern and traditional conflict resolution strategies, to address the challenges of open grazing in Delta State, Nigeria.