Aggrieved Ikebiri community women in Southern Ijaw Local Government, Bayelsa State, have concluded arrangements to embark on a nude protest in Yenagoa this week.
This, according to them, was because of alleged failure of the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to pay compensation for several oil spills in the area since 2006.
The protest became imperative as the people alleged the state government and NAOC had been insensitive to the plight of inhabitants, especially on the spill disaster.
They are demanding for a compensation of N15 billion from the Italian oil giant to address the problem of their polluted river, fresh water swamp and farm lands which are the means of their livelihood.
Emotions are rising in the community as no fewer than 13 persons from the area had lost their lives following the adverse effects of the several spills, resulting from corrosion and equipment failure of NAOC’s facilities in the locality.
Speaking with Daily Independent in an interview on Sunday in Yenagoa, Ikebiri Women leader, Ebitari Agbakabuwou, however, noted that the police authorities were aware of the proposed protest but that they were appealing to them to shelve the idea.
Agbakabuwou said: “Ikebiri kingdom are the victims of Agip’s incessant oil spills from the crude oil pipelines since 2006 till date. The impacted area cover over 130,124 and 489 hectares of fresh water and forest swamp land, which is completely wasted due to high level poverty, hunger and malnutrition in the community.”
The women leader continued: “We will go naked in the state capital because we have been raped by oil spillage for the past 25 years. There was no oil spill site inspection report. The cause of the spill was as a result of corrosion and equipment failure as the lines were due for change due to long stay within the environment. The leakage points have not been clamped by Agip. The company should effect the cleanup of the impacted area.”
Embittered Agbakabuwou lamented that her aged mother, Madam Bouse-ere James, died just last week from an acute diarrhea attack, since there was no alternative water than that from the polluted river to drink from.
She disclosed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered with NAOC had since expired in 2003, and that the company allegedly refused to embark on any developmental project in the community.
According to her, when an MoU expires, the oil firm was bound by relevant provisions to embark on a project yearly, pending when a new one would be written.
Several efforts to reach NAOC’s spokesman in Port Harcourt, Hardine Orife, failed as his mobile phone was ringing out.