Ogoni: Shell petroleum under fire to pay compensation 

By Kingsley Chukwuka

A Nonprofit organization in Nigeria, the Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), has said Shell Petroleum will pay for the damage done to the oil rich community of Ogoni land.

OLI said Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) started operations in Ogoni land in 1958, drilling a total of 96 wells to bring nine oil fields on-stream and by the end of 1992, Ogoni production was some 28,000 barrels of oil a day, about 3% of SPDC’s total production.

Since they stopped drilling, all damages done to our land have not been compensated, President of OLI Dr. Douglas Fabeke said.

“Shell Petroleum will pay for all the injustice done to the people of Ogoni”, Fabeke insists.

OLI stated this on Monday in a statement sent to our correspondent, also appealing to the federal government to apply wisdom and pay attention to the yearnings of the people.

The statement reminded the government that the cry and agitation of late Ken Saro Wiwa, has still not been met, wondering how a government who has taken so much from the oil communities keeps a deaf ear to their plights.

According to him: “The best solution to the Ogoni crises and agitation is to adopt all recommendations in the Ogoni Bill of Rights, which the organization is committed to achieve.

“I was disappointed when I visited communities of K-Dere and Bomu which hosted various oil wells and yet the areas are still underdeveloped. This is disheartening that even after the death of Ken Saro Wiwa and eight others, nothing has changed in Ogoniland”, Fabeke said

While assuring the Ogoni people of sustained engagement with the relevant authorities to ensure adequate compensation for damages done to the land, Fabeke call on all stakeholders to join hands with OLI for the actualisation of the Ogoni struggle.