Governor of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu, has said the state government paid herders N100,000 for each cow killed as a result of clashes between them and farmers.
The state government on Tuesday accused herders of kidnapping its citizens and destroying farmlands with cows grazing openly.
Speaking yesterday on a national television programme, monitored in Lagos, Ikpeazu said the same sum is also paid to farmers whose farmland was destroyed by stray cows.
“We have a strong mechanism with which we deal with the normal and usual cattle herders. We have what we call farmer/herder conflict resolution committee from the state where the police commissioner is the chairman.
“We pay compensation of about N100,000 for any cow that is killed on account of a misunderstanding between the farmers and the herders and pay the same amount for farmland verified to have been trampled on or destroyed by stray cows.
“We have used that to make sure, at least, we give some succour and buffer so that when people disagree, they can wait for that committee to look into the matter instead of taking laws into their hands,” he said.