By Pascal Ibe

A claim attached to a trending video which stated that a northern Senator proposed bill for cows to recognized as citizens of Nigeria has circulated in many WhatsApp groups.

The claim which was forwarded into many WhatsApp groups this week stated, “Yesterday, senator Aleiro proposed a bill for Cows to be recognized as Citizens of Nigeria and therefore granted freedom of movement and Association“
“Thanks to the rejection by the Senate President“.

Many persons on these WhatsApp groups reacted in agreement to this claim

Earlier, in the trending video on various social media platforms, in a heated argument with senator Aleiro Adamu, the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio was seen saying clearly that cows are not citizens of Nigeria.

Akpabio said, “ Senator Aleiro are you arguing with me? The section you talked about refers to Nigerians as citizens and not cows as citizens of Nigeria. Cows can come from Niger Republic, Chad, anywhere but cows are not citizens of Nigeria.

“Your point of order is noted but rejected“, Akpabio said to Senator Aleiro.

For many years, Nigeria has continued to struggle with herders-farmers conflicts , leading to losses of lives and property.

How This Topic Began

On Wednesday, The National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission establishment Bill scaled second reading on the floor of the Senate after an intense debate.

The bill aims to establish ranches for herders in their states of origin, replacing the current practice of open grazing.

If enacted, the commission would oversee the management, preservation and control of ranches nationwide.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Titus Tartenger Zam (APC, Benue), said creating ranches in pastoralists’ states of origin would prevent conflicts and promote peaceful coexistence.

“The bill proposes that ranches be established in the pastoralists’ state of origin without forcing it upon other states or communities that do not have pastoralists as citizens.

“The bill proposes that interested parties in livestock business must seek and obtain approvals of their host communities to establish ranches for peaceful co-existence,” said the sponsor, Zam said.

He said banning open grazing through legislation would resolve the frequent clashes between farmers and herders.

He said the absence of a regulatory framework or legislation on pastoralism and livestock mobility had created a chaotic scenario of survival of the fittest between sedentary farmers and nomadic herders in Nigeria.

“Now is the time to bring a law to stop open grazing. It is old fashioned, hazardous, burdensome and must be discarded,” he said.

Senator Aliero Criticizes Bill

While opposing some areas in the bill, Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi) maintained that confining herders to their states of origin violates their constitutional rights.

“This bill proposes that the pastoralists should be confined to their states of origin. This is against the constitution because they are Nigerians and should be allowed to move freely in Nigeria,” he said.

Aliero also said ranches should be established as private businesses that do not require the involvement of the federal government by establishing a commission.

He said the only reason he would support the bill was to expunge the provision restricting the ranches to the states of origin of herders.

Senator Adamu Aliero noted that any law that would restrict the movement of any Nigerian person and his property would be a direct breach of Section 41 of the Constitution

Akpabio, however said that offensive clauses not in line with the constitution should be expunged from the bill during public hearing and national summit on security already agreed by the Senate.

See Full Video Of Senate Debate Below 👇

The division among senators on the bill centred around infractions on relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution , protocols of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) as regards free movements of persons and their property from state to state and country to country .

Check This Report On Arise News To Read More

Spotting The Claim And Viral Video

First, from all findings, thefactwatch understands that Senator Adamu Aliero did not at any time during the Senate plenary/debate on Wednesday, proposed a bill for cows to be recognized as citizens of Nigeria.

We understand that the viral video in circulation where Senator Aliero and Akpabio argued, was as a results of Aliero’s opinion that it’s wrong for the bill to restrict the movement of herders and their properties (which may be cows) in any part of the country.

Conclusion

The claim attached to the viral video that a northern Senator proposed a bill for cows to be recognized as citizens of Nigeria is Misleading.

The northern Senator only disagreed with some areas in the anti grazing bill which confined herders and their properties to their states of origin as violation of their constitutional rights.