Appraising Grazing Laws in Nigeria. Pastoralists versus Farmers

The paper highlights the historical development of grazing reserves in Nigeria, the recent violent clashes between pastoralists and farmers taking into consideration the effects of grazing on land, causes and consequences of farmer-pastoralist conflicts and the adequacy of grazing laws. The paper contends that the Grazing Reserve Law 1965 applicable only to States in Northern part of Nigeria have not adequately curb the incessant clashes between pastoralists and farmers and that some provisions of the National Grazing Reserve (Establishment) Bill 2016 conflict with farmers’ inalienable right to property as entrenched in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and protection of propriety rights in land under the Land Use Act. The paper concludes by stating unambiguously that for lasting peace to reign between farmers and pastoralists. States should enact anti-grazing laws has done by Ekiti State which brought relative peace between pastoralists and farmers in the State.