[wysija_form id=”1″]March 10, 2015 – Bayelsa State was today grounded to a halt as angry residents whose communities were devastated by oil spill protested diversion of $16 billion paid as compensation by Exxon Mobil for an oil spill in their communities in 1998.
The aggrieved residents disrupted commercial activities at the ever busy Mbiama market in Bayelsa, keeping motorists in traffic for hours.
The protesters who claimed to be representing over 87 communities from Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Cross Rivers and Ondo explained that after 15 years of agitating for compensation for destruction of their means of livelihood by the oil spill, they were yet to receive the money even when they heard that the money has been paid.
The protesters bore placards with inscriptions such as “Stop using our money to sponsor political parties ; Exxon Mobil: All we need is our money since 1998; Exxon Mobil: Refuse to pay our money: face war”, accused their lawyer for collecting the money and refusing to remit it to the affected people.
A statement read by Comrade Godwin Roberts in behalf of affected communities accused their lawyer of secretly collecting the compensation and refusing to pay the impacted communities.
They also accused their lawyer of diverting the compensation to personal use and sponsorship of some politicians and called on members of the security agencies and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look into the matter.
They called on the Federal Government to intervene in the matter before things go out of hand.
