By Joseph Ebi Kanjo 

A coalition of civil society organisations has called on the Federal Government and oil companies to halt the planned resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland, Rivers State, Nigeria.

This is contained in a statement endorsed by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF); We the People; Policy Alert; Peoples Advancement Centre; Peace Point Development Foundation and seven other civil society organisations.

The civil society organisations, while expressing deep concern that 33 years after the people of Ogoni made their demands contained in the Ogoni Bill of Rights, none of their concerns and prayers have been addressed, said “it is disappointing and demonstrates insensitivity for the government to imagine that those concerns have simply withered away with time.”

“Those of us who remain connected to the communities know for a fact that the Ogoni people remain resolute in their resistance to any renewed hydrocarbon extraction in their domains,” they added.

The statement reads in part: “As Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria, we have keenly observed the scheming and unhindered contestations over the resumption of extraction of oil in the disputed oilfields of Ogoniland.

“Over the last decade, we
have seen scheming by Shell and the Nigeria government- including resort to court processes- to resume drilling for crude oil with its attendant environmental, social and security recklessness in Ogoniland.

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“The latest contestation follows the visit of some Ogonis to President
Bola Tinubu ostensibly with the mandate of the Ogoni people to negotiate the resumption of oil extraction in the area.

“It is particularly disappointing to see that, in the fight over OML 11
and the resumption of oil extraction in Ogoniland, there has been no
mention or discussion of getting the indigenous Ogoni people free, prior and informed permission.

“It is unclear whether any consultations have taken place with the impacted communities, or whether their rights to a safe environment and interests have been considered.

“We believe that these recent attempts are callous, ill-advised, and capable of inciting suspicion and conflict in an already tense and conflict-prone area.

It is also gravely disconcerting that in the ongoing frenzy, the
concerns raised by the Ogoni people 33 years ago which led to the termination of oil extraction have not been addressed.

“Similarly, there has been no attempt to secure justice for the countless families that lost lives, livelihoods, and properties in what is still the worst attack on a peaceful indigenous population by Nigerian security forces.

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“Persons who committed acts of genocide and abuses against unarmed populations, and boasted publicly about it, have still not been brought to justice. For the majority of Ogonis, the events of the 1990s remain an open and sour wound, begging for the healing of truth and justice.

“Critical to this is the fact that the moves to resume the extraction of
oil in Ogoniland is happening against the backdrop of the contentious clean-up of polluted sites in Ogoni.

“In 2012, Hydrocarbon Pollution
Remediation Project (HYPREP) was set up to lead and coordinate the
activities needed to implement the recommendations of the UNEP report on oil contamination in Ogoniland, including cleanup activities.

“The cleanup has been marred by concerns of irregularities, and in many instances low quality of job done and contract racketeering. These have created peculiar difficulties in the cleanup process.

“It is worrying why the government will decide to resume oil extraction
in Ogoniland when the pollution of the last decades is yet to be cleaned and the recommendations of UNEP are yet to be fully complied with.

“How does one explain the fact that a site supposedly being cleaned up will resume full oil extraction activities with all the pollution that comes with it?

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“For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that the Niger Delta as a whole has become the epicentre for hydrocarbon pollution in need of immediate remediation.

“The environmental assessment of Ogoniland report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the May
2023 Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) report both demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt the scale of destruction and the
true costs of extracting oil and gas.

“We are deeply concerned about the neglect of key issues around
ecological and social justice in Ogoniland. The world recognizes that the people of Ogoni have suffered unprecedented pains and loses onaccount of oil extraction.

“No apology has been rendered for the destruction of their environment, the killing of their people, the loss of their livelihoods, the destruction of their villages, the forced exile of their people and the murder of their leaders. To assume that the extraction of oil can commence whilst these issues remain on the front burner, is to be naïve at best and cruel at worse.”

They, therefore, urged concerned authorities to “concentrate on redeeming the ecological
disaster in the area, decommissioning aged oil infrastructure, replacing
the lost livelihood of the people and securing justice for the countless
Ogonis waiting for closure”