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Group Gives Seplat 90 Days Ultimatum To Relocate Gas Loading Point To Oben

Published

4 years ago

February 23, 2022

Editor

A group on the platform of Concerned Youths for Development and Equity Initiative for Oben, in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, on Wednesday gave the management of Seplat Energy Plc, 90 days ultimatum to rescind it decision of siting gas loading point in Mosoga, Delta State against Oben, the host communities.

Addressing newsmen, the Assistant Secretary of the group, Comrade Raymond Omokaro, alleged that the said oil firm has decided to setup loading point in Mosogar.

He said it is unheard of that a company would be carrying out its activities in a particular community while the end part that would be of an immense benefit to its host community would be diverted elsewhere.

“We are still asking that the gas loading point that Seplat is taking to Mosogar, should be returned, you cannot be exploring gas in Oben and then take the loading point to Mosoga, we will not allow that.

“They should come and build the loading point in Oben, and if the road is the problem, they can as well do a dua carriage way for us. We are tired of having a resources and the resources are not working for us”, he said.

Omokaro also alleged that the multinational firm has constantly marginalized its host communities in various ways and such should be addressed in the interest of all.

“It is very unfortunate to see that since they have been operating in our land, they have not done any project that is meaningful. We have graduates in this environ that are not gainfully employed by this company.

“You have gone through the four communities (Oben, Iguelaba, Ikobi, and Obozogbenugu), there is no constant electricity, the health facilities that we have here is like a maternity. We have asked them to upgrade it to a standard hospital.

“We are requesting that they should give the host communities employment into the managerial cadre, we are also asking that before now, they used to give scholarships scheme to our people but for quite a number of years now, we have not been seeing that, they should enact it and start giving scholarships to our people”, he said.

Corroborating the Assistant Secretary of the group, the president of the group, Comrade Humprey Igbinigie, alleged that the oil firm have failed to employ graduate from the community and empowered the rural women.

“This oil company has been existing since 1972. We have about 68 oil well heads, and a gas oil field as well.

“We have a flow station, we have a compression station, we have a gas plant as well. We are really lacking a lot in terms of development, is as if nothing is happening, no graduate has been employed, a lot of graduate sitting at home, no women empowerment, the elderly ones are not being paid, no amnesty, if you take a look at our roofs, you will notice that this gas flaring is affecting us badly.

“And Seplat don’t have a plan for this in the next year. So, we are calling on the state government, the federal government to come to our aid and sit Seplat down and tell us what are their plans and what they want to do for us”, he said.

However, a call to get the management’s comments on the issues raised was left unanswered.

Headline

Court Jails Two For Targeting President With Sorcery

Published

5 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A Zambian court on Monday sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour on charges of attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country’s president.

Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Zambian village chief Leonard Phiri were arrested in December in possession of charms, including a live chameleon.

Police said they planned to use the charms to harm President Hakainde Hichilema, and they were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms.

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu ruled in the capital Lusaka on Monday.

“The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians. I therefore sentence them to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour from the date of their arrest,” he said.

The prosecution said the men had been hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is facing trial for robbery, attempted murder and escaping custody.

Headline

Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

Published

5 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

Criminal Court ‘D’ in Monrovia is set to deliver judgment this week in Liberia’s first piracy trial, involving two Nigerian nationals accused of hijacking a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to court records, the defendants were arrested earlier this year after a Liberia-flagged ship was seized by armed men while transporting goods through international waters. The crew sent a distress signal, prompting international maritime forces to intervene.

The suspects were subsequently transferred to Liberian authorities under global maritime cooperation protocols.

According to Liberia’s news platform, Front Page Africa, the case has attracted attention because Liberia maintains one of the world’s largest open ship registries, yet prosecutions for piracy within its domestic courts have not previously occurred. Under international law, Liberia holds jurisdiction over crimes involving ships registered under its flag.

On Monday, proceedings took a new turn when defense lawyer, Cllr. Bestman Juah, informed the court that the defendants had admitted responsibility for the hijacking and were requesting a plea-bargain arrangement. State prosecutors did not oppose the request, leaving open the possibility of reduced sentences in exchange for full cooperation.

Resident Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf, who presides over Criminal Court ‘D’, will rule on whether to accept the plea deal and determine the sentencing framework. The ruling could also address deportation measures following imprisonment.

Criminal Court ‘D’ handles cases involving armed robbery, terrorism, hijacking, and other serious crimes, and the piracy trial represents a growing trend of transnational offenses being prosecuted within Liberia’s judicial system.
As of press time, the court has not announced the date for sentencing.

Headline

Spain Cancels $825m Israel Arms Deal Over Gaza

Published

6 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

The Spanish government has cancelled a contract worth nearly 700 million euros ($825 million) for Israeli-designed rocket launchers.

The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel over its offensive in Gaza.

The contract, awarded to a consortium of Spanish companies, involved the purchase of 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance.

First reported by local media and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation was formalised on Spain’s official public contracts platform on September 9.

The following day, Sanchez unveiled measures aimed at stopping what his leftist government called “the genocide in Gaza”.

It includes the approval of a decree imposing a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel due to its military offensive in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks in October 2023.

Spain applied the ban as Israel stepped up its military onslaught.

Spain has also formalized the cancellation of another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company.

That contract, valued at 287 million euros, had been first reported by the press in June.

According to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, the government is undertaking a broader review to phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Sanchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for months.

Israel has not had an ambassador in Spain since Madrid recognized the state of Palestine in 2024.

Last week, Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel after heated exchanges over Sánchez’s new measures.

The Barcelona-based Delas Centre, a security research institute, estimated in April that since the start of the Gaza war, Spain had awarded 46 contracts worth $1.044 billion to Israeli companies, based on public tender data.