Police To Prosecute Herdsmen For Destroying Farmlands

The Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr. Johnson Kokumo, says the police would ensure the prosecution of all herdsmen involved in the alleged destruction of over 20 hectares of farmland in the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of the state.
Kokumo, who spoke with journalists in Benin, the Edo State capital, said, “We have received reports of the destruction of economic crops by the herdsmen and we are working to ensure that erring herdsmen are punished for whatever offence committed, by way of sending them to court.
“We will make them answerable to the offences committed. So, it is within the competence of the courts to punish where they see that an offence has been committed.
“It is not within the competence of the police to administer punishment. But we will ensure that they (suspects) go through the rigours of the court process.”
He, however, noted that farmers, who took the laws into their own hands, would not be exempted from prosecution.

January 22, 2018