Tony John, Port Harcourt
Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has condemned the activities of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to end military occupation of Ogoni farmlands.
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MOSOP also condemned alleged continual violation of the rights of Ogoni people by Nigerian soldiers attached to Shell and insisted that the multinational oil firm and the military want the natives to die in droves.
Publicity Secretary of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, in a statement issued yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, claimed that Ogoni women and farmers were harassed and prevented from accessing their farmlands.
Nsuke said: “MOSOP wishes to strongly condemn the continual violation of the rights of the Ogoni people by Nigerian soldiers attached to SPDC. We are deeply saddened that the repression of our people continues unabated, as soldiers attached to SPDC continue to harass our women and farmers and prevent them from accessing their farmlands, destroying crops and forcefully laying pipelines through Ogoni farms.
“We condemn the actions of Shell and the company’s determination to ensure our people die in droves and call on the president to put an end to the repression in Ogoniland, by putting an end to the military occupation of Ogoni farmlands.”
MOSOP said it is disheartening that despite the precarious conditions of the Ogoni people, resulting from massive pollution of farmlands, streams and rivers, the firm has continued “to inflict monumental pains on our people by preventing them from their farms, while using soldiers to lay pipelines in Ogoni without our consent.”
The movement said the activities of Shell constitutes real danger to the security and rights of Ogoni people, especially the women.
“Furthermore, the prevention of peasant farmers from their farms portends serious threat to food supplies to families who rely on subsistence farming for survival,” MOSOP said.