According to reports, OSPAC is a vigilante group suspected to be linked with and sponsored by Shell, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
They were seen accompanying the said oil companies in a series of visits made at the Shell Oil Well Facility in Ledor, the same place where Adoole was shot.
According to Indigenous leader Celestine AkpoBari, this incident comes as oil companies are forcefully trying to resume oil production in the area. He says, “We saw this coming. This attempt to forcefully resume oil production will cause another round of killings in Ogoni. This is a very sad development. They have started with their divide and rule strategy.”
Oil companies using violence is nothing new in Ogoniland. Businesses have often resorted to criminal and barbaric means to drive out Indigenous communities in Ogoniland and silence those who speak out against these injustices. Such was the case with the martyrdom of Ken Sarowiwa and eight other Ogoni activists who were executed for defending the rights of their people against exploitation, plunder, and environmental destruction brought about by oil giants Shell and Chevron.
The Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation condemns the violence brought upon by these profit-hungry oil businesses. On top of their outright neglect of Indigenous Peoples rights to their land, these businesses seem to not hesitate to lashing out violence against Indigenous Peoples, especially when the resistance of these communities is seen as a threat to their corporate interests. #
Reference:
Romeo Jara
Communications Officer, IPMSDL
info@ipmsdl.org
