Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has stated that it is essential that the ban on open grazing in the southern region is enforced.

The ban is part of the decisions reached by the governors of the southern region after a meeting held in Asaba, Delta State.

Ikpeazu who addressed newsmen during a Zoom meeting on Saturday disclosed that the ban will prevent the activities of criminal herdsmen in the region.

“We are now at the point of making sure that we enforce and implement it and even in doing that I must also share what I see as a challenge to the enforcement of that law,” Ikpeazu said.

“The law is in place and we are taking steps to enforce it.

“It has become imperative that we enforce that law strictly because we just noticed that we have big-time trouble in our hands.

“We have those that we refer to as criminal herdsmen; they are different from the ordinary herdsmen that we have been living with all these years.

“We now have in our mist bandits that have infiltrated from the rest of West Africa and other parts of Africa and their assignment is to come here rape, kill and kidnap people for money.

“It is now very imperative that we enforce that law.”