A cattle rearer, Mr Nurudeen Semiu has been sentenced to five years in prison for violation of the Oyo State anti-open grazing law.
Semiu was arrested on Thursday at the gate of the Oyo State Government Secretariat alongside his nine cows by the police division at the State Assembly Complex in Agodi, Ibadan.
The cows were grazing daylight by the motorcycle park otherwise known as ‘Okada’ Park beside the Secretariat gate when they were seen and closely monitored by the taskforce team of the Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority (OYRLEA).
OYRLEA taskforce immediately lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Agriculture with subsequent report was made to the Police division by the Secretariat gate.
Police personnel were deployed and effected the arrest of the herdsman and moved the cows to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The chairperson of Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority, Hon. Justice Aderonke Aderemi ordered the prosecution of the offender without further delay in accordance with the Anti-open Grazing Law of 2019.
Sitting at the tribunal on the charge number OYRLEA/19/12/2024 which was held at the Ministry of Environment the same day, the prosecuting counsel, N.Y. Aderibigbe read a four-count charge to the offender.
Semiu pleaded guilty to the first two charges and pleaded not guilty to the others.
At the end of the trial, the presiding officer, Barrister Kunle Abimbola sentenced the herdsman to five years imprisonment for open grazing.
He, however, gave the convict the option of N1,700,000 as fine in lieu of the prison term.