By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
As a way of restoring environmental sanity back to the Territory, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCDA, together with the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB, has commenced strict enforcement against keeping and grazing of animals in homes and streets.
FCDA frowned at the increasing illegal grazing and stray animals on Abuja streets and said this anti grazing exercise is to help mitigate the myriad physical and health challenges caused by the menace.
The exercise began yesterday as AEPB enforcement team accompanied by a joint team of security agencies stormed the streets and arrested some animals, mainly cows caught roaming and grazing along the busy Airport road, in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
During the exercise, the AEPB team came under attack from those rearing the animals, who began throwing stones and barricading the busy road, in a failed attempt to recover their seized animals, but the security personnel attached to the AEPB team dispersed them with tear-gas canisters.
AEPB Director, Engr. Osi Briamah noted that the exercise is a clear signal that the menace is no longer acceptable in the FCT, with the laws against grazing of animals in the FCT.
Briamah explained that the extant rules is that people are not allowed to keep animals in their residential property, or graze animals on the streets of Abuja, especially along the Airport road or any of such places within the nation’s capital city.
He frowned at the fact that animals crossing highways and other streets have been involved in car accidents, caused death of people who ram into them, adding that seized animals will be taken to the Mobile for further action.
“These are clearly illegal acts, and we cannot and we will not have animals crisscrossing the expressways, and we will not certainly allow people to keep animals on their properties because they also carry diseases that are passed to humans.”
” So apart from constituting physical environmental nuisance, they also constitute public health hazards, this is precisely why we have city planning, for you to keep your animals in certain areas, and live in certain areas. No conflict about this.”
“We have always tried to enforce the law, but it is getting more serious now because if you live in Abuja, you see animals grazing everywhere; cows everywhere. This is no longer acceptable, and we are going to begin strict enforcement. We will seize these animals (those roaming the streets) and we will take the violators to court in the next couple of days.”
“Our prayer will be to ask the court to confiscate those seized animals and give them away because, we have done all we can to mitigate this problem, but it is getting worse.”
“Cows crossing highways have been involved in car accidents, caused death of people who ram into them in FCT.”
The AEPB Director disclosed that it was observed that most those rearing the animals are children between ages 8-10 years old boys. City rules and routes are not known to them, which is a great risk to motorists and other residents in the FCT.
So, it must come to an end, that’s why we are embarking on strict enforcement particularly within the next one or two months, we want the city to be rid of animals on the streets, he emphasized .
He decried attacks on AEPB officials during the exercise, and said it is always a problem, even though they have armed policemen and other security personnel attached to them, who continually try to use very minimal force.
He added that they had discussed and appealed to their elders and parents to help stop the menace, by not allowing their children to herd animals on the streets of Abuja.
Furthermore, he stated, “For those in the government, security outfits or private sector who these animals in their homes, should know that it is illegal, as you cannot keep cows in your house.”
“A lot of these cows are owned by some important people, who give them out to the little boys to graze for them. This is against the law in the FCT. If you have gifts of cows, the advice is that you can take it to your village or a ranch or have it slaughtered.”
” I am using this medium to reiterate that it is not legal to keep animals in your house, even though occasionally during festive season, they are given out as gifts to important people, but you have to look for a way to keep them in a ranch or farm, but not your house.”
Deputy Director, AEPB Monitoring and Enforcement, TPL Kaka Bello, said that AEPB will successfully tackle the menace in the city, by taking the enforcement to notorious spots and other parts of the city.
