Abigborodo Chairman Alleges Defiance of Judicial White Paper, Military Intimidation by Orodje of Okpe

The Chairman of the Abigborodo Management Committee, Hon. Misan R. Ukubeyinje, Esq., has accused the Orodje of Okpe, His Royal Majesty Major General Felix Mujakperuo (rtd), of allegedly flouting the Delta State Government’s Judicial White Paper on the Okpe–Urhobo Forestry Reserve and using military intimidation to suppress Abigborodo and neighbouring host communities over SEPLAT Energy Plc’s operations.

Speaking in a telephone interview, Ukubeyinje claimed that the actions attributed to the Okpe monarch contradict the findings and recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Okpe Forestry Reserve, gazetted in 2021. He said the White Paper affirmed the ownership and rights of Abigborodo, Ugbekoko and Uton-Iyatsere communities over the disputed lands.

According to him, members of the Nigerian military have allegedly been repeatedly deployed to intimidate community leaders and members of the Abigborodo Management Committee, forcing them out of their ancestral territory, while SEPLAT continues pipeline installation and other oil and gas activities on Abigborodo land without engagement, consent or recognition of the host communities.

Ukubeyinje argued that the continued militarisation of the area and denial of host community status amount to a deliberate subversion of the rule of law. He maintained that the Judicial White Paper clearly called for the recognition and compensation of communities de-reserved from the forest reserve by oil companies operating on their land.

He further alleged that SEPLAT has persisted with its operations by aligning with the Okpe traditional institution and the Delta State Government, despite findings from the state’s Peace Building and Conflict Resolution process which, he said, identified Abigborodo and Ugbekoko as host communities to the company’s Sapele West OML 41 operations.

Warning of possible unrest, Ukubeyinje said the resumption of pipeline works under heavy security presence, without resolving core issues of land ownership, host community rights and compensation, poses a serious threat to peace and stability in Abigborodo, Ugbekoko and Uton-Iyatsere.

He called on the Federal Government, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and security authorities to urgently intervene, warning that continued disregard for judicial findings and the alleged use of military force to silence lawful demands could trigger a breakdown of law and order in the area.