Many herders in various regions of the country, including Oyo State, continue to raise concerns regarding alleged extortion, bias, and unlawful seizure of livestock by enforcement teams of the government.
While local authorities maintain that actions follow due process under anti-open grazing laws, the herders believed they were unjustly persecuted.
Recently, there were news report by some sections of the media of seizure of livestocks in Ido local government area of the state which the owners believe were unjustified and therefore accuse the Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority (OYRLEA) of high-handedness, discrimination, and illegal impoundment of cattle.
Recently, journalists paid a visit to some affected cattle owners in their communities, which included Goronjo, Koguo, Sonso, Ilaju, and neighbouring communities.
The journey from Ibadan main city to Goronjo took them almost two hours navigating the bush path with no farmland so close, which now made the crew to doubt if there had been any complaint against the seized livestocks.
Some of the affected cattle owners narrated their ordeal to the visiting journalists and expressed surprise to the operation of officials of the agency.
Some of them whose cattles were seized by officials of the Oyo State Rule of Law Enforcement Authority (OYRLEA) on Saturday insisted that their cows were illegally seized.
The leader of the team, who is also the Chairman, Miyyetti Allah in Ido Local government area of the state, Alhaji Babangida disclosed that the team from the authority that came to take their cow away consisted of Amotekun, Vigilantee and men of the agency.
Babangida explained that ten cows were taken away from Goronjo, which was sold off by the authority without the consent of the owner.
Sixteen cows belonging to Abubakar Mohammed of Konguo village were returned after coughing out a whooping sum of 8.5 million naira.
Nine cows were seized at Sonso, while ten cows and five sheeps have not been returned to date. Babangida lamented the huge financial loss incurred by the owners of the cows, adding that this has caused them more economic hardship.
Babangida explained in detail how the money was paid even though the reasons given by the officers were not tenable.
Also, according to Alhaji Abubakar Saliu, the officers usually came during the middle of the night to perpetrate these unholy activities, claiming they were from the state government.
The fulani’s expressed concerns regarding alleged extortion, bias, and unlawful seizure of livestock by the authority
It would be recalled that Oyo State rule of law authority has dismissed the claims as false, stating that an operation on June 12, 2026, in the Ido Local Government Area legally impounded 16 cows after formal complaints and proof of crop destruction by open grazing, acting on laws like the Oyo State Open Rearing and Grazing Regulation Law (2019).
It is now expected that the Oyo state government through his agencies will look into the matter with the sole aim of sorting out these important issues as soon as possible.