News

Okomu Oil Company Host Communities Protest Over Maltreatment, Harassment

Published

5 years ago

January 31, 2021

Accuse Company Of Blocking Their Road

Our Fishing Traps Seized By Okomu Oil – Communities

Host communities of Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State, yesterday, held a peace protest against what they tagged marginalisation and ill-treatment by the oil palm company.

The protesters drawn from the host communities of Gbelebu, Safargbo, Okomu, Oweike, Maikolo, etc, carried placards bearing inscriptions such as: ‘Govt tell Okomu Oil Company to open our road’; ‘Okomu Oil Company give us our fishing traps that are with you’; ‘stop polluting our stream with your agro chemical, it is our only source of drinking water’; ‘we are not terrorists, stop harassing us with military, Okomu Oil’, accused the company of blocking and positioning fiece looking military men on the only road that links them to Udo.

The protesters also acussed Edo State government of selling the whole land wherein they farm to the company thereby enslaving them, just as they lamented that they have no where to farm anymore in their land.

READ ALSO: NIN: CSO Drags FG To Court

Speaking to the press shortly after the protest, the Fiyewei (spokesperson) of Okomu clan, Chief Sunday Ajele, said it quite unfortunate that government of Edo State has joined in the enslavement of the people with continuous sales of the land wherein the natives farm to a foreign company.

L-R: Chief Gbadiagha Obeke, the Tunwei of Safaragbo; High Chief Enoch Sulubor, the Amananaowei of Gbelebu; Chief Sunday Ajele, the Fiyewei (spokesperson) of Okomu and Chief Wuluku Wilson of Okomu, addressing the press shortly after the protest.

“The state government sells the land to multinational where this forest people farm and even trade. If you sell the land to multinational, where do you want these people to survive? Ordinarily, we expected the state government to come to the aide of these host communities and question this multinational why the ill-treatment but unfortunately, the state government has joined them in the enslavement.

“A country that has constitution, it is unfortunate that the constitution is not working. A country with laws yet the law is not working. The law protects only the rich while the poor who are the forest people that feed the nation are suffering. Everything we buy in the market comes from the forest,” he said.

On her part, Mrs. Biobokogha Pena-ere from Okomu said the company has put the communities into bondage through their maltreatment and harrasement, lamenting that they can no longer fish nor farm.

The protesters at Gbelebu comminity on Friday

“Okumu Oil Palm is oppressing us, intimidating us, we don’t have good road, we don’t have good water. We cannot kill the fish we used to kill before because they have used their chemical to spoil our river, so no fish. The petty business we do to survive, they have blocked the road to access urban cities, so we can no longer do our businesses,” Pena-ere lamented.

Also speaking, Chief French Yabike decried the activities of Okomu Oil Palm Company, alleging that the company has been busy evacuating their villages, just he further lamented that yet “in terms of employment nothing; talking about scholarship, nothing, everything they promised, nothing was done.”

He said Okomu land is divided into two area: BC 9 and BC10, and that they the native are in BC 10, alleging that Okomu Oil Palm Company has crossed to BC 10 part of the land and intimidating them with military.

“We are tired of the activities of Okomu Oil Palm Company. The company has been evacuating our communities. Some times ago, they came with soilders to evacuate Lemon camp. After that they proceeded to Agbede comminity and evacuated them, and later extended to Oweike, they evacuated it too,” he said.

Also speaking, a chief from Gbelebu comminity, Ejueyi Segun, said the only road linking the community and others has been blocked by the company, saying the company does not owe the road as claimed.

He said, “The company has blocked the existing road before the company was founded. Since 2019, the road has been under lock and today it’s been locked completely. They used COVID-19 as an excuse to finally lock up the road with lockdown excuse. The alternative road is bad.

“The road the company is claiming is not its road, that road was constructed by British West Africa Timber Contractors of those days before Okomu Oil Palm was set up there.”

Engineer Lawani Dumofaye, from Agbede community said “Just of last week, our local farmers mills were being burnt down by Okomu Oil Palm Company. We have been suffering. Our streams are being polutted with their Agro chemicals. We are suffering. We are calling on the international comminity and the government to come to our aides. We have a lot of graduates in our communities but none is being employed.”

Calls and WhatsApp messages sent to the Public Relations Officer the company, Fidelis Olise were not replied even after reading them.

Up Next

Orhua Community Condemns False Death Rumour About Captain Hosa

Don't Miss

NIN: CSO Drags FG To Court

Comments

News

Gombe Wins Northeast Quiz Competition On Legislature, Democracy

Published

19 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Gombe State has emerged as the winner at the 2025 North East Zonal Quiz Competition on legislature and democracy organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for senior secondary schools across Northeast on Friday.

Speaking before the commencement of the 2025 edition of the zonal debate which focuses on the legislature, democracy and governance, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the exercise was to deepen the knowledge of legislative and democratic governance among secondary school students and youth.

According to him, it was also to broaden their knowledge on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance.

The competition, he added, would stimulate the interest of the young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

He explained that enhancing the knowledge of young Nigerians in the legislature would not only foster an inclusive and participatory legislature in Nigeria but would also serve as an avenue for citizen engagement in the legislative process.

Represented by Mr Jeremiah Agada, NILDS Northeast Zonal Quiz Coordinator, Sulaiman added that the quiz competition would take place in all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is also to inspire young Nigerians to cultivate the interest to participate in legislative governance.

“This 10th edition of the competition is therefore the fourth time the competition has been held at the national level.

“As the 2025 NILDS Zonal quiz competition is declared open, I therefore urge all competing students and their teachers to abide by the rules of the game so that the desired objectives of the competition are achieved,” he said.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Muhammed Lawal, said the exercise was a welcome development in the circle of education, adding that it was a ground where students in the zone could be tested among other students in the country.

“This will enable us to improve the quality of our delivery in our various schools to our teeming students across the zone.

“I want them to take it upon themselves that in an engagement like this, there is no loser. You put in your best, and if at the end of the day, you don’t make it up to the top, your efforts will be crowned.

“I hope this will be well covered because it will stimulate other schools to be part of and perform better so that they can come up to this level as well,” he said.

Mohammed appreciated the commitment of teachers and moderators who coached the students to fully participate in the competition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revamping the education sector under Gov. Bala Mohammad’s leadership.

Announcing the winner of the competition, the Quiz Master Mr. Lucky Tongs, announced Gombe State as the overall winner of the debate with 75 points

He also announced Taraba State as the first runner up with 55 points and Yobe State as the third position with 50 points, adding that the winner is expected to represent the Northeast sub-region at the National competition in Abuja.

Other states that participated in the competition included Adamawa and Bauchi.

News

Police Arrest Nollywood Production Manager For Assaulting Crew Member

Published

22 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Police have arrested a Nollywood production manager, Anierobi Courage, for allegedly assaulting a crew member.

Anierobi Courage, better known as Nwa South, reportedly assaulted the head of makeup, Mary Chizzy Eze, on October 28, 2025, while on the set of the film “Lagos to Opulence.”

A trending video of the physical altercation showed the production manager pressing Mary’s throat after slapping her, an act that has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

Reacting to the public condemnation, the Nigeria Film Crew Community (NFCC), in a statement released on Thursday, described Courage’s actions as “animalistic behaviour.”

Announcing his arrest, NFCC called on Nollywood producers and other stakeholders to blacklist Courage across all productions.

“The production manager violently hit and strangled Mary Chizzy Eze for speaking up against unequal treatment among the crew. While she has received medical care, he has been arrested.

“This level of disregard for human dignity is unacceptable. We stand firmly against all forms of abuse, assault, and crew maltreatment,” the NFCC said.

News

‘EFCC Collected N10m Before They Released Me’ – Oladips Alleges [VIDEO]

Published

23 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Popular Nigerian singer, Oladips has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of collecting N10 million from him.

The rapper made this known nearly a year after he was arrested by EFCC during a midnight raid in his estate.

Oladips was arrested with some of his neighbors for alleged fraud in November 2024.

He was released after spending five days in detention.

Speaking about his experience with the EFCC, Oladips in his latest interview on Trending podcast, stated that nothing was found on him after the EFCC investigations.

While revealing that the EFCC collected N10 million from him before his release, he lamented that “Nigeria just happened to me”.

“It’s just one smelling place like that. They just packed us there like sardines and they gave us nonsense food. Funny enough it was Zlatan that was sending me food. Zlatan is not even a friend, that’s my blood.

“He was sending someone to buy good food for me because the food there is bad. They just packed us there like sardines. I’m not even supposed to be there first of all. Like, why did I spend four to five days there when you people (EFCC) didn’t find anything on me, not even a single thing. And they still collect N10 million from me before they released me.”

When asked “Is it a thing you can take up against the EFCC later, or you will just allow the sleeping dog lie?”, the singer responded “Who is my father?”

“Who is my father now? At the end of the day, who is my father? It’s just me and my truth. It’s not something I will want to. I don’t just know how the system works. I for dey their page now if to say I dey do Yahoo. They didn’t find anything on me. If they are watching this, they know that I’m saying the truth.

“They collected money from me before they released me. They didn’t find anything on me. So, what was the money for? What was all that stress and suffering for? It’s just Nigeria. Nigeria just happened to me,” he said.

https://x.com/i/status/1983504280972615813