Local herdsmen are continuing to use National Stadium, Abuja, a multi-purpose football stadium in the Nigerian capital, as a place for their cattle to graze despite repeated orders to move elsewhere.
There is currently a law in place in Abuja that prohibits such activity from taking place, but herdsmen continue to flout the rules. A report in the New Telegraph newspaper suggested that the herdsmen are often armed with dangerous weapons and are able to overwhelm stadium staff to gain entry.
Last year, the Federal Capital Territory banned the practice of open grazing in Abuja but the problem appears to be getting worse.
Sam Musa, of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, told the New Telegraph: “We’ve really been warning and sensitising them and the process is ongoing because you know some of them are new in the city.
“We have been working together with their leaders… You know education is number one; once you educate people and they can understand why they should not do it, our job becomes easier.”
The 60,000-seat stadium hosts football matches involving Nigeria’s national team, as well as various other social and religious gatherings.
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