By John Ikani
Aggrieved landowners in Bayelsa State have staged a peaceful demonstration against the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, accusing the oil company of land grabbing for the Akenfa/Okarki section of its Enwhe-Gbarain Phase 3A pipeline project.
The concerned landlords, who besieged the project site along the Yenegwe-Okakri-Kolo Road on Wednesday alleged that SPDC’s activities in the project had destroyed their property.
They complained that SPDC embarked on the project without paying them compensation for their lands, which they acquired legitimately from the Okakri Community.
The landowners further lamented that the oil firm forcefully carried out excavation and laying of pipes, while threatening to use the military to deal with them should they (land owners) stop the project.
A protester said his building destroyed and vowed that the demonstration would continue until the SPDC settled all landowners adequately.
The protest disrupted work at the site as the workers were forced to stop work.
The angry protesters brandished placards with various inscriptions such as, ‘Shell, pay us before you use our land’, ‘Shell is wicked’, ‘Several buildings have been destroyed by Shell’, ‘Shell has refused to pay compensation for buildings destroyed’.
Also speaking at the project site, Ms Ebipadei Ariwei, who led the protest, said, “We are here to protest Shell’s refusal to pay us compensation for our lands that they have destroyed. Without our knowledge, they came to the site and destroyed my building and started laying pipes.”
“When I came and saw them excavating and scattering my building, I asked them why they are doing that and they said they are Shell and that they will settle us, because they want to acquire the land.
“They later called that they want to negotiate, but the negotiation has not been concluded and they have come to forcefully lay pipes and destroy my building. I demand that they pay us adequate compensation,” she said.
She said the SPDC was oppressing them because they were ordinary citizens, adding: “They are threatening me that if I don’t give up the land, they will use soldiers to brutalise me, because it is a Federal Government project and they must take the lands by force.”
When contacted, a spokesperson for Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited said, “We are engaging the concerned landowners to resolve the issues at stake amicably.”
