Get Guardian on GoogleAmanyanabo of Dieama-Okpoama, HRH Ingo IkeleIkaba, has absolved Nembe Exploration & Production Company Limited of any blame in the communal clash at the Ikei/Dieama axis of Brass Island, Bayelsa State, which resulted in the death of one Mr Alfred Ojoko.
Also, the oil company has formally rejected its implication in the incident by the Bayelsa State government and has therefore demanded an immediate retraction of a statement credited to the government.
Similarly, lawyers to the Ikei Ama community, the alleged second party in the dispute, have disclaimed any link to the October 19 violence, stressing that a land inspection carried out earlier had nothing to do with the eventual violence which led to the fatality.
In a statement, the Amanyanabo of Dieama-Okpoama, who described the deceased Ojoko, also known as ‘heavyweight’, as his brother and personal assistant, said attempts to link the land acquisition/lease process being undertaken by Nembe to the death were inaccurate.
According to him, the land acquisition/lease process commenced early last year and had been progressing without major incident, with both Dieama and Ikei communities cooperating to facilitate development.
He disclosed that all visits by the company to the area had been without incident, noting that there was a need to distinguish the land process from the circumstances that led to his brother’s death.
Instead, he pointed to the longstanding tensions in the community over black sand mining and unresolved land-boundary disputes. He stated that this had nothing to do with the oil company.
“I wish to state unequivocally that this narrative does not reflect the circumstances as I understand them. For the avoidance of doubt, the land acquisition/lease process commenced early last year and, until the events in question, had been progressing without any major incident.
“Both the Dieama and Ikei communities had been cooperating in good faith with a common objective of facilitating the process and creating opportunities for meaningful development within our communities. It is also pertinent to note that the company had undertaken two previous visits to the area without any reported incident,” the monarch explained.
He urged the public to refrain from promoting unsubstantiated narratives that could misrepresent the facts, unfairly implicate the company, or further inflame tensions.
