Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has granted an order for leave to apply for judicial review by mandamus compelling the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, to perform the public duty of the clean-up and remediation of Ogoniland cast upon them in compliance with the law.
Mandamus is an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to perform a public or statutory duty or correct an abuse of discretion.
The court declaration is in respect of a matter brought before it, in the suit number FHC/PH/CS/41/2022 by the Incorporated Trustees of the Ogoni Developmental Employment and Industrialization Initiative, for an order of mandamus compelling HYPREP and five others to perform the public duty cast upon them.
Respondents to the suit are Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Environment, Director General of NOSDRA, Governing Council of HYPREP, Director General of DPR, and Project Coordinator of HYPREP.
Lead Counsel to the applicant, Kagbara Popnen., said the motion ex parte brought before the Court was for HYPREP to keep to the recommendations of the UNEP Report on Ogoni, in respect of the cleanup and remediation of oil impacted sites.
Popnen expressed delight over the ruling saying it was sad that since 2016 when the clean up and remediation process was kicked off, HYPREP and its contractors have ignored all international best practices and standards in performing its statutory duty.
Also speaking, Chairman, Rivers Indigenous NGOs and Civil Society Network, Mr. Tombari Dumka-Kote, while hailing the decision of the court, regretted that all emergency measures as contained in the UNEP report have been relegated by HYPREP.
Dumka-Kote accused HYPREP of paying deaf ears and blindness to the plight of Ogoni communities, and awarding remediation contract to inexperienced and unqualified contracting firms against the recommendations of UNEP.
He said the civil society community in the State will not close its eyes to the misdeeds of HYPREP as the Ogoni Cleanup remains a test case for the cleanup and remediation of the already polluted and devasted Niger Delta Region.
“Ogoni communities still drink from polluted streams and wells six years after the flag-off of the remediation and cleanup of Ogoni by the Federal Government. More Ogoni men, women and children have died from drinking from polluted water, and other unimagined illnesses arising from HYPREP neglect of the emergency measures provided in the Report.
“Poverty is now street sign in Ogoni as the people who have lost their source of livelihood, are not provided with an alternative source of economic lifeline.”
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