The National Union of Ogoni Students International (NUOS INT’L USA), in collaboration with the Center for Democracy, Human Rights and Anti-Corruption International (CDHRAC INT’L), People Advancement Center, and Mideckoe Environmental Development Institute, have condemned a recent article by Taiwo Adebayo, published in the Associated Press, titled “Nigeria moves to restart oil production in the vulnerable region after Shell sold much of its business.”
The groups criticized the reported $2 billion oil-field sale confirmed by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs Olu Arowolo Verheijen, calling it a “scam and deception.”
In a joint statement dated Tuesday, February 18, 2025, and signed by NUOS INT’L President Pius Nwinee and CDHRAC INT’L Coordinator Cornelius Dumerenee, the organizations expressed their outrage over the Federal Government’s approval of the deal, particularly as discussions about oil resumption in Ogoniland continue.
“We are dismayed and disheartened by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s support for Royal Dutch Shell and its attempted plan to rob the Ogoni people of their future. This is a violation of Ogoni economic and national security,” the statement read.
The groups further insisted that “on no account should Royal Dutch Shell sell, transfer, or divest Ogoni oil. Instead, the oil should be bequeathed to the Ogoni people. Ogoni oil is not for sale, transfer, or divestment.”
Recalling the historical injustices faced by the Ogoni people, the groups condemned the British government’s role in bringing Shell into Ogoniland over six decades ago, allegedly without the consent of their ancestors.
“Mr. President, we will not stand by and watch Shell sell the bones of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight Ogoni activists executed by the military junta in 1995. Nor will we allow the bones of four prominent Ogoni chiefs and over 3,000 Ogoni people, killed in tribal conflicts that destroyed 17 Ogoni towns and villages, to be disregarded,” the statement declared.
As a minimum demand for any discussion on oil resumption in Ogoniland, the groups called on the Federal Government to:
Exonerate Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight Ogoni activists.
Immortalize the four prominent Ogoni chiefs or launch an investigation into their deaths.
Create Bori State for the Ogoni, Andoni, and Opobo people.
Rebuild the destroyed towns and villages.
While acknowledging the establishment of a University of Environmental Technology in Ogoniland, the groups insisted that it is “not justice for the Ogoni people.”
“There are federal universities in almost every major city in Nigeria. A University of Environmental Technology alone does not compensate for decades of environmental and economic violence against our people. We urge that it be upgraded to a full-fledged university with a medical school, agriculture faculty, and other standard programs to address the ongoing health and environmental crises in Ogoniland,” they added.
