Benue State Government has reviewed its Anti-Open Grazing, Ranching and Prohibition Law 2017.

The amended law recommended stiffer penalties for offenders.

The state governor, Samuel Ortom, who signed the amended law on Thursday, said there was a lacuna in the law that needed to be addressed.

He added that the amendment was done to meet the dynamics of the times.

The governor said, “We thought the bandits will respect the law of the land. We gave a moderate charge of N2,000 for any cattle impounded. A cow is sold for over N200,000. We discovered that the charges for other states are as high as N70,000 because the policy is dynamic.

“We have decided to review the charges for cows impounded in Benue State. Henceforth, if any cow is impounded, the owner will pay N50,000 instead of N2,000.

“An additional N20,000 will be paid daily and if the cows are not taken away from the quarantine centre after seven days, they will be auctioned. All these we are doing to tell anyone involved in open grazing that it is wrong.”

Punch