By Lukman Olabiyi

Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has signed the law to prohibit open cattle grazing and trespass of cattle on land in Lagos State, and for connected purposes.

The bill was signed 11 days after it was unanimously passed by the state House of Assembly and transmitted to the Executive arm for authorisation.

The governor also signed the Lagos  State Domestic And  Sexual Violence Agency Bill, 2020 into law.

The signing of the bill has made a criminal in Lagos for cattle rearers to occupy unapproved public areas and private land with their livestock for grazing.

The law also prohibits the act of moving cattle round public places by herders.

The signing of the anti-open grazing law by the Governor followed the decision of Southern Governors’ Forum last August, setting the September deadline to pass the law across member States.

There have been crises in some states, resulting from alleged open grazing. Although farmer-herder crisis is not pronounced in Lagos, the anti-open grazing law is expected to prevent the spillover of the menace into the State.

Sanwo-Olu, who assented to the bill during the state’s Executive Council meeting in Alausa, directed the security agencies to swing immediately into action and enforce provisions of the law.

“By the powers vested in me as the Governor of Lagos State, I am signing the bill on Open Cattle Grazing and Trespass of Cattle on Land into law to prohibit issues associated with open grazing of livestock.”

On  Lagos  State Domestic And  Sexual Violence Agency Bill, 2020 signed  into law, the governor said the signing has made  DSVRT  a full-blown agency.

The development coincided with the commemorative month dedicated to raising awareness on gender-based violence in the State. The Governor and members of the State’s cabinet wore attire with purple shades to support the campaign against sexual violence.

The DSVRT legislation provides for the establishment of Sexual Offenders’ Register that would help the State efficiently tackle violations in the communities.

After signing the law, Sanwo-Olu said: “Raising awareness about domestic and sexual violence is an important piece of working to end the cycle of violence.”

The governor appointed Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi as the executive secretary of the new agency.

Vivour-Adeniyi was the coordinator of the response team before the legislation was signed into law.