Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has called on residents of the state living in border communities to provide useful and timely information to government and security agencies to enable them prevent the influx of nomadic herders and their cattle into the state.

The governor who made the call today at Tse-Kyogen, a community near the border between Benue and Nasarawa states, restated the commitment of his administration to ensuring that open grazing of animals no longer has a place in the state.

Ortom who was returning to Benue from Abuja had to stop his convoy on sighting a herd of cattle on the Benue side of the border and ordered security men to apprehend the lawbreakers.

The governor, while warning that security had been reinforced in the state, noted that anyone who violates the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of the state would be arrested for prosecution and his animals impounded even as he urged those who want to rear livestock in Benue to do so according to the law.

He said there was a need for prompt information to security operatives and livestock guards in areas where those who deliberately want to violate the law operate to enable adequate surveillance and swift response by security agencies.

It would be recalled that on Wednesday this week, Governor Ortom and other governors of central states met in Lafia, Nasarawa State at the instance of the Inspector General of Police, to brainstorm on the need for intensive community policing.

The meeting also deliberated on curbing conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in parts of the region.