The Civil Liberties Organisation has condemned the attack, on Friday, on a community in Ogoniland, Eleme, in Rivers State by military men, based on the prompting of Anglo-Dutch oil company, Shell.
In a statement, the Executive Director of CLO, Comrade Ibuchukwu Ohabuenyi Ezike, said the group’s sources in Rivers State reported that in the early hours of Friday, officials of Shell arrived the Ebubu oilfield in the oil rich Ogoniland and began to clear the field when the youth of the area were alerted.
The youth then organized a protest against the action.
But not long after the protest started, angry looking members of the Joint Task Force in the area, stormed the place and commenced attacks on the protesting youth.
Helicopters of the Nigerian Army were reported to have arrived Eleme as well as soldiers from the Bori Military Cantonment in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Ezike said in the statement: “CLO condemns, in a very strong term, the secret plot of Shell to start oil operations in Ogoniland even when it has refused to respect and implement the UNEP Report on Ogoni. We also condemn the use of military and police personnel to attack the innocent citizens of Ogoniland by Shell and its allies.
“Similarly, CLO seriously frowns at the Federal Government of Nigeria’s criminal silence and conspiracy with Shell and other interests to violate the rights of oil host and other communities in Nigeria. While government has supported Shell’s impunities in Ogoni and other areas in the Niger Delta, including its (Shell’s) refusal to implement the UNEP report, the government has allowed its security agents to be used by Shell to torment the Ogoni people. It is important to note that this is happening even when the President of the Federal Republic, the Minister of Petroleum Resources and chairpersons of the Petroleum committees of both Chambers of the National Assembly are from the Niger Delta.”
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