Date Published: 05/12/09

Ogoni, Shell in fresh confrontation

OVER 13 years after the execution of Ogoni leader, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his kinsmen, his people are currently locked in a fresh confrontation with the Anglo-Dutch super oil and gas major, Shell, over alleged acts of ''environmental terrorism''.

Youths of Bodo community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, who are leading the current assault against the oil company, are alleging that Shell called for their trouble.

Spokesman for the Bodo Youth Federation (BYF), Nenibarini Zabbey, claimed in an interview with our correspondent yesterday that some officials  of the oil company arrived the palace of theirt Paramount Ruler of Bodo, King Felix Sunday Bebor Berebon, at about 2:30pm on Saturday May 2, 2009, and presented ''provocative and beggarly items as relief materials for an incident of oil spill that ocurred in our community eight months ago''.

The relief materials presented were 50 bags of rice, 50 bags of beans, 50 bags of garri, 50 cartons of sugar, 50 cartons of dry peak milk, 50cartons of milo tea, 50 cartons of tomatoe and 50 tins of groundnut oil.

Bodo, going by the 2006 population census, is an Ogoni community of over 69,000.

''The Bodo people consider the offer by Shell as insulting, provocative and beggarly, and unanimously rejected the presents! The Shell team was asked to leave, as Bodo youths escorted them upto K-Dere to ensure that none of the Shell pieces is left behind'', the youth said.

Before departure, the oil company officials allegedly remarked that it was most unlikely for the company to consider it necessary to deliver or discuss the issue of relief materials with the community again.

In the mean time, the Ogoni community has given their power of attorney to Chief B. M. Wifa (SAN) to negotiate with the oil company on issues pertaining to the spills, relief materials, clean up, remediation, compensation among others. 

But Shell media officials in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, said the company would prefer to deal directly with the community rather than through a third party. 

Shell's 24 inch trans Niger pipeline traversing Bodo mainland and creek to Bonny terminal ruptured on August 28, 2008 and spilled oil into  the Bodo creek til November 7, 2008, when it was clamped after joint assessment to ascertain the cause of the spill.

Around February 2, this year, another spill occurred at the same Bodo creek. This time, it was along the 28 inch trans Niger pipeline going to Bonny terminal. The incident ocurred as a result of what the company described as ''system failure''.