Over 400 persons who violated the Benue State anti-grazing law have been arrested, while 50 have been convicted.
This was disclosed on Monday by Governor Samuel Ortom after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ortom said he updated Buhari on the latest security developments in the state.
On the recent communal clashes in Katsina-Ala and Gboko Local Government Areas of the State, Ortom said the affected communities had resolved to cooperate and live in peace with one another.
He said: “The situation now is that the entire communities met with me and other Security Council members and they are now willing to cooperate.
“The challenge is that one notorious criminal popularly called Gana, who was trained by Boko Haram, is the one terrorising.
“He is instrumental to the kidnappings that have been happening between Benue and Taraba States and all forms of criminality that are going on – robbery, assassinations and so on.
“We are going to move against them using ‘Operation Wild Stroke’ and we believe we are going to surmount that.”
On the state’s anti-open grazing law, the governor disclosed that no fewer than 400 herdsmen had been apprehended for violation of the law, while 50 had been convicted.
Ortom said: “Our law is being implemented and we have arrested quite a number of herdsmen, 400 to be precise, irrespective of their ethnic background whether Fulani, Igbo, Yourba, Tiv or idoma.
“We have convicted more than 50 people, based on our laws.”