Grazing Routes: How Malami Embarrassed President Buhari – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has berated President Muhammadu Buhari for trying to re-establish grazing routes for herdsmen.

Naija News recalls that 17 southern governors had after a meeting in Delta State imposed a ban on open grazing in the region.

But President Muhammadu Buhari had directed states to revive cattle grazing routes across the country.

The president stated this during an interview with Arise Television.

He disclosed that he has asked Nigeria’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami to begin the process of recovering land from persons who have converted cattle grazing routes for their personal use.

Buhari said the grazing routes were designated in the 1st Republic when “Nigerians use to obey laws” but those routes had been converted.

“What I did was ask him to go and dig the gazette of the 1st Republic when people were obeying laws,” he said.

Reacting while also appearing on Arise TV on Wednesday, Femi Falana said whoever gave Buhari such advice must be questioned.

He said the Land Use Act of 1979 outlawed the grazing reserve law, which was established by the then Premier of the northern region, Ahmadu Bello.

“The applicable law in Nigeria today is the Land Use Act which has been imposed and entrenched in the Constitution since 1979. By virtue of section 1 of that act, the entire land in every state is vested in the governor on behalf of the people.

“The president of Nigeria does not have control over any land outside the FCT. So, this is the position of the law,” Falana said.

He added that “There was no time in the history of Nigeria that grazing routes existed in all the regions. In the First Republic, there was no grazing route in the entire southern part of the country.

“So if someone has informed the president that a gazette existed in the First Republic, the president has right to say ‘go and look for it.’ I’m saying whoever has embarrassed the president in this regard has to be questioned.”