Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt– Some indigenes of Ogoniland have staged a peaceful protest in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, demanding that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu immediately halt oil exploration activities in Ogoni, over alleged continued environmental pollution and unresolved compensation claims.
The protesters, made up of elderly men, women and youths, marched through the streets of Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “We Say No to Illegal Oil Exploration” and “Our $300 Million Compensation Fund Must Be Accounted For.”
They accused oil operators of resuming exploration activities in communities in Tai LGA, despite unresolved environmental damage and recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, report on the clean-up of Ogoniland.
Convener of the protest, Dr. Douglas Fabeke, said the continued oil activities posed serious health and environmental risks to the people, insisting that exploration should not proceed without full remediation and compensation.
“Our land is still polluted, our water sources remain unsafe, and yet oil exploration is going on as if nothing has happened,” Fabeke said.
“This is against the spirit and letter of the UNEP recommendations and a direct threat to the lives of our people.”
Fabeke also questioned the handling of a $300 million compensation fund, which protesters said was meant to address environmental damage suffered by affected Ogoni communities.
“That compensation fund must be fully accounted for. Our people deserve to know how the money meant to address decades of pollution has been managed,” he said.
The protesters warned that failure by the Federal Government to intervene would escalate the matter beyond Rivers State, including protests at the Presidency in Abuja and foreign embassies.
“If the Federal Government does not order an immediate halt to these illegal activities within 14 days, we will move this protest to Abuja and to international embassies to draw global attention,” Fabeke declared.
The protest comes amid renewed Federal Government efforts to accelerate the Ogoni clean-up programme through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, raising fresh concerns over policy coherence between environmental remediation commitments and ongoing oil exploration activities in the area.
