AKANIMO SAMPSON

WE'RE NOT AWARE OF KILLINGS IN OGONI BY SOLDIERS, SAYS POLICE

THE Nigeria Police, Rivers State Command, says they are not aware of alleged extra-judicial killing of Ogoni youths by soldiers guarding oil facilities belonging to the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas major, Shell.

But the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), in an on-line statement to our correspondent on Thursday, claimed that they have been receiving reports of impunity by the armed security forces in remote Ogoni villages.

Some local Ogoni people are claiming that not less than 12 Ogoni youths have been killed in the past few weeks under ''questionable circumstances''.

Spokesperson for the police in the state, Mrs. Rita Inoma-Abbey, a Superintendent of Police (SP) and a PhD holder claimed on telephone that the command headquarters at Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, was not aware of such incidents.

''As far as we are concerned in this headquarters, we are not aware of such killings. I swear to you'', the police spokesperson said.

Apparently not persuaded, MOSOP Spokesperson, Mr. Sunny Zorvah, said the Ogoni mass movement on Tuesday received ''with utmost bitterness the shooting and killing of an Ogoni youth, Mr. Bariara Vurasi Lemon, by a team of soldiers attached (as guards) to some Staff of Shell working at Oil Well 4 in B-Dere community''.

According to Zorvah, ''MOSOP strongly condemns this latest killing which is one too many, and also expressed worry over the persistent irresponsible and reckless attitudes consistently perpetrated by the company’s personels and their armed guards while carrying out operations and other activities in parts of Ogoni.

Continuing, he said MOSOP received the sad news of Mr. Bariara Vurasi Lemon's killing, a School Certificate holder, aged 20, with shock. The late Lemon was said to be among a group of community youths engaged at the project site by the Shell workers and were given some food items to share to others.

Allegedly, a minor disagreement on method of sharing the food packs among the youths themselves attracted the attention of the armed security forces who swooped on the youths, tortured some of them while in an attempt to run away from the brutality, Mr. Lemon was fell by a bullet, as soldiers shot at the youths.

Mr. Lemon’s corpse was allegedly picked up immediately and taken to Port Harcourt by the soldiers.

In the mean time, MOSOP said they are viewing the incident as callous and cruel and called on the government and other relevant authorities to ensure that the culprits do not go unpunished as experienced in several other cases.

They are also calling on other rights organizations and the international community to rise against these actions that have become persistent developments in Ogoni, noting that she would ensure that justice prevails in this matter. ENDS