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Pay Odi Victims Now, MEND Tells FG …As Zaki-Biam Demands N41.8bn Compensation
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has given the Federal Government a three-week ultimatum within which to implement the compensation of Odi people, as granted by the court, for alleged invasion of the community.
The group called for the release of its convicted leader, Henry Okah, in a statement issued last Wednesday evening, saying the judgement is a vindication of all the agitating groups in the various Niger Delta states.
The statement, signed by Comrade Azizi, the group’s factional spokesman, warned that as ruled by the court, government must pay the compensation to the affected communities within three weeks, beginning from 19th February, else MEND would be forced to enforce the ruling by any means it deems fit.
Justice Lambo Akanbi of the High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had last Tuesday awarded N37.6billion as compensation to the people of Odi community, in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The compensation is to pay the community over its invasion by armed soldiers during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
MEND commended the judge but pleaded for leniency on its members who were arrested and are being tried in Abuja.
“With this verdict coming from an arm of the Nigerian government, the entire freedom fighters in the Niger Delta (MEND and others) have been vindicated,” the statement said.
“Nigerians can now see that the invasion of our communities were carried out by the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo purely to have control of our resources.
“The verdict issued last Tuesday has been one of our key demands while we look towards Justice Kolawale of the Federal High Court, Abuja for a review of the death/life sentence of our members he sent to jail while calling for the release of our leader (Henry Okah).”
MEND argued that the 2015 elections should be contested by every qualified aspirant in the country.
It warned northern politicians and international oil companies operating within the Niger Delta region to accept the realities on ground that the PIB has come to stay.
“We (MEND) have a recent copy of this bill and will advise those concerned of the consequences if that bill is altered,” another part of the statement read.
“There should be no review whatsoever of the new fiscal terms being proposed in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is currently undergoing legislative scrutiny at the National Assembly; this we will not accept.
“Furthermore, concerning the 2015 election, we (MEND) believe that no Nigerian has mandated any person(s) (politicians) to enter into any agreement(s) on their behalf on who becomes the next Nigerian president come 2015.
“For sure, we as individuals never gave such authorisation to any individual, groups or political party. So we want to advise the likes of Governor Aliyu Babandiga of Niger State and his co-traveller, Mr. Junaid Mohammed that Nigerians and only Nigerians alone will decide who runs or becomes the next president come 2015,” the statement indicated.
MEND finally stated its readiness to negotiate with government on the release of its leader, Henry Okah, its members and also on the peace of the region “if truly government wants it.”
Meanwhile, Victims of the military invasion of Zaki-biam in Benue State have demanded from the Federal Government the immediate payment of the N41.8 billion special and general damages compensation awarded them six years ago by a Federal High Court sitting in Markurdi over the mass killing of their people and destruction of their properties.
The money was awarded the Tiv people who, in 2001, were invaded by armed soldiers in Logo, Ukum, Kwande and Katsina Ala Local Government Areas of Benue State where over 2,000 citizens were reportedly massacred by the military.
It would be recalled that on October 22 to 24, 2001, several hundred soldiers of the Nigerian army killed more than 200 unarmed civilians and destroyed homes, shops, public buildings and other property in more than seven towns and villages in Benue State.
Gbeji was among the worst-hit locations: more than 150 people were killed there alone, while more than 20 were killed in the larger market town of Zaki-Biam, and others were killed in several other villages.
It was a well-planned military operation, carried out in reprisal for the killing of 19 soldiers in the area two weeks earlier, which was attributed to members of the Tiv ethnic group.
Those who died at the hands of the military were victims of collective punishment, targeted simply because they belonged to the same ethnic group.
The N41.8 billion was awarded against the Federal Government as compensation for the arbitrary deployment of armed soldiers against the innocent and harmless citizens who were either brutally killed or inflicted with permanent injuries.
In a strongly worded letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, the victims asked the President to respect and obey the rule of law by ordering the payment of the judgment debt without any further delay.
In the letter dated February 20, 2013 and signed by their counsel, Sebastine Hon, SAN, the victims recalled that the N41.8 billion was awarded to them by Justice Lewis Alagoa in 2007 in his judgment in their suits where they demanded payment of about N200 billion for the state assault against them.
The victims recalled that the Federal government had initially appealed the decision of the Federal High Court at the Court of Appeal, but later through its team of lawyers applied to settle the matter out of court in order to heal the wounds inflicted on them.
They however regretted that six years after the out-of-court settlement proposal, the Federal Government had not made any tangible move to meet its own part of the settlement agreement.
The letter, entitled: “Appeal to Direct Compliance with Judgment in consolidated suits Nos. FHC/MKD/CS/6/2002 and FHC/MKD/41/2001,” reads in part: “We are Solicitors, retained by Peter Orngu, Terfa Akaagba, Anongo Unishigh, Ngunengen Adura, Jabi Adula, Emelu Adula, Elizabeth Aoughakaa and Andrew Juntu, who were some of the Plaintiffs in Consolidated Suit Nos. FHC/MKD/CS/6/2002 AND FHC/MKD/CS/41/2001, delivered on 5th day of July, 2007, by the Hon. Justice A.L. Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Enugu (now a respected Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria).
“Your Excellency, the Federal High Court, in that said judgment, had awarded the total sum of N41.8 Billion Special and General Damages against the Federal Government for the unlawful termination of lives and destruction of property by Soldiers at various places in Logo, Ukum, Kwande and Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas of Benue State, an unfortunate event popularly known in ordinary Nigerian parlance as the ZAKI-BIAM INVASION”.
“The Federal Government, even though appealed to the Court of Appeal, Enugu, later applied through its lawyers for leave to settle the matter out of court, which was granted. Till date, however, no such settlement has been done and there is no serious effort aimed at achieving such settlement.”
Hon further stated: “This is more than 12 years since innocent lives were mowed down without provocation or aggression by Nigerian soldiers, and this is almost six years since an important Court like the Federal High Court ordered the Federal Government to pay compensation to the victims of that unprovoked assault.
“However, no effort has been made to assuage the feelings of those victims of crass illegality; and there seems to be no such remedy in the near future except if you intervene as a matter of urgency.It is in the light of the above that we crave your esteemed and highly valuable intervention as the father of the nation, by ordering all the necessary departments of the Federal Government to immediately comply with the terms of the judgment of Allagoa.”
He maintained that “such a step, Your Excellency, will reassure our clients and the larger Tiv interest
L-R:Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi, Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi and Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, at the National Economic Council meeting in Abuja, yesterday.
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DEPLOY YOUR CAPACITY, TECHNICAL KNOWHOW TO REVITALISE SONGHAI FARMS, FUBARA TELLS TASK FORCE
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has said that diversifying the economy of the State has become inevitable because of the need to solve the problem of food shortages while also providing jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.
These, he said, are the reasons why great care has been taken to critically look at the prospects of revitalising the Songhai Integrated Farms, which is located in Bunu Tai, in Tai Local Government Area of the State.
Governor Fubara insisted that if the problem associated with food shortages is tackled with good intent and purpose, about 40 to 50 percent of current problems of economic hardship plaguing the country and its people would have been solved.
Governor Fubara made the assertion while inaugurating the Chairman, Mr Biedima Oliver, and members of the task force saddled with the responsibility of supervising the revitalization of Songhai Integrated Farms by its partners: Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Other members of the task force included, the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Engr Victor Kii; Commissioner for Finance, Barrister Emmanuel Frank-Fubara; Dr Ayebaesin Beredugo; and Mr Maurice Ogolo.
The Governor explained that it took him time to approve the constitution of the task force being inaugurated because of the ugly experience with the previous group that shown such interest.
Governor Fubara stated that a process was initiated and driven halfway into the handing over of Songhai Farms on concession to an interested partner who latter showed a total lack of the needed capacity to undertake such task.
He said, “As a matter of fact, if few of you could remember, we even conceded the place to an investor who came in after he had made his presentation, and we, believing that he has the capacity, we said okay to him, and we had already signed up.
“But something happened. He came back to tell us that he wanted us to give him a N5billion bank guarantee. We then asked him, why? If we have the N5billion, why do we need you to come and even revitalize Songhai Farms? We would have put that N5billion there ourselves. For that reason, we cancelled that arrangement.”
Governor Fubara said now that two separate companies have come together to indicate interest and given the assurance of having the needed capacity to drive the process, he is delighted to see them meeting that expectation.
Governor Fubara pointed to the expectation of the people who want to see the Songhai Farms back on stream on a sustainable basis.
That expectation, he insisted, is also what his administration wants to see actualised within its lifespan.
He noted, “We want to see food sufficiency, because we know when Songhai Farms comes on board, there will be food, which is one of the problems we are having in this country. If we are able to tackle the issue of food, 40 to 50 percent of our problem will be solved.”
Governor Fubara also stated that although he believes in the presentation made by the group and has taken their assurance to heart, but warned that he would not tolerate a repeat of what happened before.
The Governor said, “I hope your story will not be (end) halfway too. I hope you have the capacity and all the technical knowhow to handle it. It is not when we start now, after we had finished inaugurating the task force, you will come back to tell us that you need $2million. If we have $2million, we won’t need you. We will invest it by ourselves.”
Governor Fubara, however, praised the capacity of the Chairman of the task force, Biedima Oliver, saying that incidentally, he was one of the personnel that convinced the then administration to develop the Songhai Farms, and had worked with the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) to manage the project.
He said, “He knows and understands the workings of Songhai, and now that we are making you the chairman of the task force, we want to believe that you will make that place come back to life.
“I don’t have any doubt in your capacity. A few things you’ve touched, you turned them to gold. Please, bring it back to what we used to see in Songhai. Bring it back with the help of your committee.”
Governor Fubara assured that his administration will remain committed to providing all the necessary support that they may require to make their assignment a success.
He added, “So, I hereby inaugurate you. Your task is very simple: Do everything within your powers and with our support to make sure that Songhai becomes operational to the benefit, not just the people of Tai, but to the entire Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole”.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Task Force to Supervise the Revitalization of Songhai Farms with Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, Mr. Biedima Oliver, expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the opportunity and confidence reposed in them to revive Songhai Farms.
Mr. Oliver assured that they will deliver the expected goal on Songhai Farms, and doing so on time and on target so that the good people of Rivers State can eventually be happy and also benefit from the huge investment.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that all the policies and programmes of his administration are tailored towards the protection of interest of Rivers people, especially the youths.
This, he said, is borne out of the importance his administration attaches to youths’ development and empowerment as leaders of tomorrow.
Fubara, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, disclosed this when he received the youths of Emohua Local Government Area under the auspices of “Emohua Youths For SIM” on solidarity visit to Government House, Port Harcourt, last Friday.
He said that his administration has put in place modalities that will boost the livelihoods and well-being of Rivers citizens, which youths of Emohua will also benefit when they materialise.
The governor, who spoke through the Rivers State Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, pointed out that the recently awarded Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku Road, the ongoing Emohua-Kalabari Road, reinstatement of illegally sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Area and the approval for electrification of the area, are part of deliberate measures to open up the area to make life conducive and more meaningful for the people.
According to him, “Everything about the governor is putting the interest of Rivers State first. He is looking at and taking action on those things that we need to do to restart the wheels of progress in Rivers State.
“There are many things the governor has planned and is already doing that will boost the life and welfare of every citizen of Rivers State, but most importantly the youths.
“Growing up, I learnt that Egbeda is one of the biggest communities in the whole of Ikwerre, and it’s predominantly an agrarian community. They have food in Egbeda, they have food in Ubimini, they have food in Omudiaga and other natural resources. The whole world is tilting to agriculture, and this is the way to go.
“The Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Omoku road, when completed, will open up the area for real development. Your food and everything you produce there will now have value, they will no longer be thrown away. In all these, you the youths are going to be the utmost beneficiaries.”
He added, “Same will be applicable to the Emohua-Kalabari Road which will also, trigger development in the area, and you will be the greatest beneficiaries. When the LGA is also electrified, you will be having 24 or 20 hours of electricity, and those things the youths can do with electricity, you can stay at home and create wealth for yourself and children.
“All the totality of what the governor is doing, when they are completed, or even as some are completed now, the youths are going to be utmost beneficiaries.”
While acknowledging that youths are the true leaders of tomorrow and any government that fails to carry them along in the scheme of things is doomed to fail, the governor assured them of his administration’s commitment to always address issues concerning youths and ensure that they are part of his government.
He commended the youths for toeing the path of truth by identifying with his administration, urging them to sustain the tempo and shun evil, as his government will ensure that the trend whereby politicians turn youths to beggars are over.
He said, “Youths are, indeed, the leaders of tomorrow. The time of youth is a very important time. It a time that your parents or whoever is your leader at that time have to make the greatest investment in you. And any Government that decides to only carry the elderly, chiefs aling and abandon the youths is bound to fail,” he asserted.
“But I am happy that Governor Fubara has concentrated his energy on everything that will benefit the society, especially the youths.
“And based on these, I want to thank you for recognising what is good and calling it good, for shunning what is evil, for saying the Governor is standing for you.
“Let me tell you, you are on the right direction. Let me tell you again, Rivers State is the bride of Nigeria. The whole Nigeria is looking at what will happen here. As they look here and see you standing on the path of truth, this is a very important step that you have taken to right all the wrongs of the past, to make Rivers State stand on the tripod of justice, peace and security. That is what we are going to gain through the governor, taking all the wise actions that he has already initiated.
“The projects the governor is embarking on are meant to prepare nets for the youths to fish and put food on their table, hence you should continue to follow him.
“The SIMplified Movement brought upon by the governor will ensure that Rivers youths stop the habit of going to bow down before politicians, pledging loyalty before they can eat.”
Earlier, spokesman for the Emohua Youths for SIM, Comrade Ovamale O. Ovamale, had said that the visit by youths from the 14 political wards in Emohua Local Government Area was to thank the governor for the award of the Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku road, the approval for electrification of the area and reinstatement of sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Council, of which the youths were mostly affected.
According to him, “Siminalayi Fubara of recent has given Emohua Local Government road that links Elele to Omoku, which comprises over four communities in the local government.”
“Emohua Local Government has also been in darkness for eight years. No community in the local government that has light. But, of recent, because of the passion and love the governor has for the people of Emohua, he has approved the electrification of the local government.
“Also, the illegal sack of Emohua Local Government workers, for which the youths were mostly affected and without the approval of the Local Government Service Commission, the governor, in his compassionate nature, has reinstated them, and that is why we said we must come and thank His Excellency”, he said.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will collaborate and continue to consult widely in delivering a liberated State experiencing enduring peace.
Fubara said, in doing so, he would not operate as a dictator but as a member of a team that has the best interest of the State at heart and determined to leave a lasting legacy that can be celebrated.
The governor spoke during the formal presentation of Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Michael Tom, as first class tradition ruler, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Fubara stated that, during the Sixth State Executive Council meeting, N80.8billion was approved with 50 percent contract value paid already as the Government awarded the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road.
He said the project will be funded from the savings from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to underscore his administration’s prudence without also borrowing to complete the project.
“We are at a crossroad in our State where we all need to stand for what is right. It happens once in a life time. So, for now, be one of those people that will be in the course to liberate and free our dear State.
“And I know strongly that having the support of a peace-loving Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, having the support of the wonderful Council of Chiefs, having the support of the great people of Rivers State, we will bring peace in our State. We will do those things that are right to develop our State.
“We will continue to consult. We will not act as dictators. We will act as people who know that one day, we will leave, and when we leave, the way we have acted will speak for us. We will not force people to talk good about us. Our legacy will be a signature for how we led”, the governor said.
Fubara explained that he acted within the ambit of the law to upgrade the traditional stool upon which King Ateke Tom sits in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace in Okrika, and indeed, the State, and urged him to continue to do justice to everyone.
In his speech, Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon Charles Amadi, congratulated King Ateke Tom for being formally presented with the Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office as first class traditional ruler.
Also speaking, former Transport Minister, Chief Abiye Sekibo, thanked the governor for fulfilling his promise of upgrading the traditional stool of Okochiri Kingdom, and pledged the support of Kirike Se people to his administration.