06032018 - Charge any Fulani man with AK-47 to court—BUHARI

PANORAMA
Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018—39
RIVERS…THE TREASURE BASE OF THE NATION
By DAVIES
IHEAMNACHOR
PORT
HARCOURT—
MOVEMENT for the
Survival of the Ogoni People,
MOSOP, Rivers State, says it
will petition the United
Nations yet again over
alleged devastation of
farmlands in Ogoni
communities by Shell
Petroleum Development
Company, SPDC, in the course
of laying new oil pipelines in
the oil-rich area.
MOSOP said renewal of the
pipelines in the area by the
multinational oil firm was
clearly a disregard for the
people of Ogoni, as it ought
to have conducted
Environmental Impact
Assessment, EIA, before
resumption of activities.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the
President of MOSOP,
Purported damage of
farmlands: MOSOP vows to
drag Shell again before UN
*We didn’t destroy farmlands, just effecting repairs
on 24" TNP – SPDC
Comrade Legborsi Pyagbara,
wondered why SPDC would
be insistent on renewing its
facilities if it was not for oil
exploration.
No plan to resume oil
exploration in Ogoni- SPDC
Meanwhile, SPDC said it
stood by its earlier statement
on the renewal of its pipelines
in Ogoni remains, adding
there was no plan to resume
exploration in the area.
Spokesman, Joseph Obari,
said: “The Shell Petroleum
Development Company of
Nigeria (SPDC) is carrying
out repair work on the 24”
Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP)
which passes through parts of
Ogoni land and beyond.”
“The scope of work involves
replacement of sections of the
existing pipeline. No new
pipelines are being laid. The
24” TNP has been shut in since
2013 awaiting this
maintenance. SPDC has no
plans to resume oil production
3 YEARS AFTER INVASION: Residents
scared to return to Rivers community
By DAVIES
IHEAMNACHOR
OGONI—THREE years
after the people of
Kporghor community, Tai Local
Government Area, Rivers
State, were sacked from their
homeland allegedly by armed
youths from Ogu/Bolo over
land tussle in 2014, many
villagers have refused to
return, while returnees live in
mortal fear.
Reports said that many
residents were killed, houses
and schools destroyed in the
mindless attack.
Why villagers don’t want to
come home – CDC chair
Community Development
Chairman, CDC, Kporghor
community, Revd. Charles
Ndem, who spoke to NDV on
the development, asserted that
residents have refused to
resettle in the community due
to fear of another invasion by
the attackers, who threatened
to return.
“We are still afraid. Most of
our people are still living in
the nearby communities.
Nothing is really happening
in this community. The attack
on us was too much. We have
been abandoned by politicians
and traditional rulers. Nobody
remembers our plight.
“We call on the government
and other relevant authorities
to establish a police station in
our community so that our
people can return fully. We
also need relief materials to
start life afresh because we do
not have anything again,” he
said.
According to him, “We also
request the Niger-Delta
Development Commission,
NDDC, to direct our brother
who is working with them to
provide help for us.”
We are determined to
resettle – Spokesman
Community spokesman, Mr.
*KSWA leader addressing the people of Kporghor
community
*Kporghor villagers and KSWA officials after the sensitisation
*Abandoned home overgrown by bush
Nubari Sam said the invaders
actually warned that they
would strike again if the
indigenes returned to the
settlement, but insisted that it
is their homeland and they
would not run away.
“Nobody will take our land
from us. They threatened us
that we will not resettle till 50
years, but we said no. Today,
we are struggling to resettle
as a community.
“They came and killed many
CDC chair, Kporghor
community
of our relatives. They
destroyed our buildings, but
we that are still alive are
resolute that we must resettle.“
Schools shut down
Nubari disclosed: “Our
schools have been closed
since the invasion. No school
is functioning again. Our
children go to school in
neighbouring villages and
communities. We call on the
government to help us in that
regard. The school buildings
are just like that without
facilities.”
KSWA donates cash to
revive local economy
Meanwhile, Ken Saro-Wiwa
Associates, KSWA, has
donated N50,000 each to 20
women in the locality to start
petty trading.
National Coordinator of
KSWA, Chief Gani Topba, who
made the donation during a
visit to the community to
ascertain the state of affairs,
expressed hope that the
money would help to restore
economic life in the area.
Topba expressed sadness that
the people were not given due
attention by relevant agencies,
and called on government to
speedily address the plight of
the people.
in Ogoni land which was
stopped in 1993.
“The maintenance work
involves repairs on the 24”
TNP, both in the Ogoni axis
and beyond. The affected
communities have been
adequately engaged and their
support secured prior to
mobilisation of the repair crew.
The repair work is providing
employment and other benefits
for the host communities.
“The works are restricted and
contained within SPDC’s right
of way, and so far, no third
party land has been impacted,”
he stated.
Signals NASS, NHRC
Pyagbara said: “As part of its
campaign, MOSOP presented
this case before the United
Nations Human Rights
Council, last November, and
also initiated an online global
campaign against the laying of
the pipeline in Ogoni land,
which had generated over
2,000 signatories of support
from all over the world.
“MOSOP had also petitioned
the National Assembly and the
National Human Rights
Commission to intervene in this
matter. In the coming days,
MOSOP will be returning to
the United Nations to make the
world body know that the
Nigerian government and Shell
are still bulldozing Ogoni
farmlands and continuing with
the laying of these pipelines.
“MOSOP reiterates its earlier
position that Shell’s continuing
laying of pipelines in Ogoni
land is a negation of the
environmental rights of the
Ogoni people and a great
display of impunity against the
extant laws of this country,” he
asserted.
Not against oil exploration
While calling on the Federal
Government to reduce
bottlenecks delaying the
cleanup process in Ogoni land,
he explained that MOSOP
was not against resumption of
oil exploration, but maintained
that firms that want to come to
Ogoni must ensure they carry
residents along in the oil
business.
“We call on the Federal
Ministry of Environment to
break down the wall of
bureaucracy hampering the
work of HYPREP to
immediately cause the release
of necessary funds for the
agency to work. The
unmitigated delay between
approvals and release of funds
is killing the UNEP Report
implementation process,”
Pyagbara said.