Ogoni Martyrs’ Memorial: MOSOP Calls For Shell’s Probe Over $173.8 Billion Unaccounted Revenue
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has called on the Federal Government to probe The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) over an estimate U.S $173.8 Billion alleged to have been concealed by the company during its operation in Ogoni between 1958 to 1993.
President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke made the call in a press release to mark the 29th memorial of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others by the Abacha government in 1995.
MOSOP said while Shell was reporting a daily production of 28,000 barrels, the Ogoni fields had a capacity not lower than 350,000 barrels. MOSOP called on the government to investigate Shell for the unaccounted daily output of 322,000 barrels accusing the company of economic sabotage.
MOSOP said the unaccounted 322,000 barrels per day, if valued at $50 per barrel, will amount to $173.8 Billion lost to sabotage during the period.
“Shell drilled over 200 oil wells in Ogoni, an environment with excellent porosity and permeability and reported a daily of 28,000 barrels which averages at 140 barrels per well. That I know does not make economic sense.”
“I want to state, as president of MOSOP, that Shell lied about its production capacity and real output in Ogoni and I am calling on the Nigerian Government to initiate a probe.”
“I will state further that Ogoni has capacity to produce over 500,000 barrels of oil daily and Shell should explain how it is that official data suggest 350,000 barrels while hell reported 28,000 barrels. I state again that Shell lied about its output in Ogoni and needs to be investigated.”he said.
MOSOP said Shell’s divestment program was an attempt to escape the consequences of her reckless pollution of the Niger Delta. Citing the UNEP report on Ogoni and a recent report launched by the Bayelsa State Environmental Commission, MOSOP said Shell should be made to pay for her crimes in Nigeria and not given a leeway to escape through its divestment program.
“Divestment would mean that Shell will transfer both assets and liabilities to a new company. The implication is that Shell will escape the consequences of her reckless business practices which has killed many and endangers the lives of millions. That is something the Nigerian Government must halt”
MOSOP further called for an end to the death penalty. According to Nsuke, several innocent persons, like the Ogoni martyrs, have been killed unjustly. He said a proper thing to do to save innocent victims of the death penalty will be to exterminate the death penalty from our laws.
“The death penalty has unfortunately cost our country lots of valuable lives. Unfortunately, some of these men were innocent and their innocence sometimes took years to establish. We can save these lives by putting an end to the death penalty.” Nsuke said.
MOSOP urged the Nigerian Government to prioritize the development of Ogoni. Nsuke said the government has largely mismanaged the Ogoni conflicts with Shell. He urged a change in the attitude of the government towards the Ogoni people highlighting MOSOP’s desire and commitment to rapid development in the Ogoni region through the commitment of a fair proportion of Ogoni resources to Ogoni development.
Signed:
Alex Akori,
Secretary-General,
MOSOP,
November 10, 2024.
