News

Trouble Looms As Ijaw Youths Threaten To Shut Oil Exploration In Niger Delta

Published

1 year ago

July 28, 2024

Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Western Zone, has threatened to shutdown oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta over alleged exclusion of interested Ijaw sons and daughters by the Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Ltd, SPDC, in the onshore assets biddings.

A statement jointly signed by the zonal Chairman, Comrade Nicholas Igarama, the Secretary, Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, Esq and the Information Officer, Tare Magbei, the umbrella body of Ijaw youths warned against SPDC’s persistent demonstration of hatred to the progress and development of their host Ijaw nation.

The IYC, while warning the SPDC “dangers ahead if they do not review the controversial bidding processes for Ijaw sons and daughters to fully participate in the onshore assets biddings of the company,” added: “As a group, we will not condone SPDC’s pattern of exploitative practices, environmental degradation and neglect of our people.”

The statement reads in part: “The disregard for our people who are clearly qualified to partake in the biddings for these onshore assets that have massively contributed to the high-level environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, clearly substantiates the fact that SPDC deliberately spikes the hazards that have engulfed our region.

“As a group, we will not condone SPDC’s pattern of exploitative practices, environmental degradation and neglect of our people.

There is no gainsaying to the fact that as Ijaw people, we have suffered immensely due to the activities of SPDC in our region. We warn against SPDC’s persistent demonstration of hatred to the progress and development of Ijaw nation, it is unacceptable.

“Our lands, rivers and ecosystems have been polluted, resulting in the loss of livelihood for our people who rely on fishing and farming. The health and well-being of our communities have also been severely affected by the constant flaring of gas and oil spills.

“This non-inclusion of interested Ijaws in the onshore assets biddings is another level of injustice mete out on us by SPDC, particularly with the fact that Ijaw sons and daughters who applied for it were promised to expect response but to no avail.

“We have our facts and evidence against SPDC to reiterate that Ijaws have the manpower and capacity to fully participate in this process.

“The IYC will not accept the deliberate gimmicks of SPDC to deprive Ijaw sons and daughters in the oil and gas industry their right to partake in the bidding process of these assets.

“We reject and condemn the gimmicks in the strongest terms and we declared SPDC as an enemy to Ijaw nation.

“In view of the above, as a Council, we have agreed to occupy all SPDC facilities and a subsequent shutdown of oil and gas exploration activities in our region because what is happening here cannot happen anywhere in the world. SPDC cannot reap Peter to pay Paul, and we say enough is enough of this hatred.

“In conclusion, we call on President Bola Armed Tinubu, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to take appropriate action and call the management of SPDC to order”.

News

Tinubu Orders Defence Minister To Relocate To Kebbi State Over Abduction Of 25 School Girls

Published

3 hours ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi State over the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in the state.

This was contained in a statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday.

Matawalle, who was formerly governor of Zamfara State, was asked to remain in the state to monitor security efforts to secure the release of the abducted students.

Gunmen abducted 24 students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State, around 4am on Monday.

Matawalle, who is expected to arrive in Birni-Kebbi on Friday, gained some experience in dealing with banditry and mass kidnapping during his tenure as governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.

On 26 February 2021, armed bandits abducted 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, in Zamfara State. The bandits released all the hostages on 2 March 2021.

President Tinubu had postponed his scheduled trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, as he awaited further security briefings on the kidnapped Kebbi schoolgirls and the attack on Christ Apostolic Church worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State.

News

Nigeria Now Deadliest Place On Earth To Be Christian – Nigerian Bishop Laments

Published

4 hours ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Catholic Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Benue State, Most Rev. Wilfred Anagbe, says Nigeria has become the deadliest place on earth to be a Christian.

Bishop Anagbe made this statement on Thursday while testifying before the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC

Speaking before the US Congress, the Bishop said that the controversy escalated after President Trump designated Nigeria on the CPC list on 31 October 2025.

He alleged systematic persecution of Christians in the country, saying “Attacks by Fulani militants and Boko Haram have intensified, targeting Christian communities with impunity.

“More believers are killed there annually than in the rest of the world combined, yet perpetrators face little accountability.

“Violence is spreading, displacing millions and destroying farmland, creating a humanitarian crisis worsened by food insecurity. Without urgent intervention, Christianity risks being wiped out in Northern and Middle Belt Nigeria.

“Nigeria, already designated a Country of Particular Concern, must now be met with decisive action,” he said.

News

Christian Genocide: Back Nigeria CPC Redesignation With Action, Nigerian Bishop Begs Trump

Published

4 hours ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in Benue State, Wilfred Anagbe, has appealed to President Donald Trump of the United States to match its renewed designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, CPC, with concrete action.

Bishop Anagbe made this call on Thursday, while testifying before the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a CPC

He said, “On behalf of millions of Christians in Nigeria and in the diaspora, we want to thank President Donald Trump for his bold leadership in designating Nigeria as a CPC. I commend you and this subcommittee for ongoing efforts on this matter.

“It is a vital step, but must be backed by serious action. One, use the Magnitsky Act for targeted sanctions against Nigerian government officials and others tolerating or condoning Islamic violence in the country.”

The cleric also called on lawmakers to tie security and humanitarian aid to measurable improvements.

“Expand humanitarian support for IDPs. The IDPs must return to their ancestral homes, and this requires security guarantees from the Nigerian Government,” he said.

Bishop Anagbe told lawmakers that many Christian victims in Benue remain traumatised, adding that one priest he knows cannot walk after surviving a terrorist attack.

‘Deborah Samuel’s murderers remain free’ – US defends designation of Nigeria as CPC
He accused the federal government of downplaying casualty figures and abandoning survivors of repeated assaults.”

Anagbe also argued that President Donald Trump’s earlier CPC designation “aimed to stabilise Nigeria” but “worsened the safety of Christians.”