Niger Delta Leaders Accuse Dutch Government and Shell Oil of Conspiracy to Persecute Activist

    Tuesday, 06 September 2011 06:00
    Emeka Umejei


Sunny Ofehe is charged as a terrorist in a plot to bomb oil pipelines in Niger Delta.
Lagos — Judges in the Netherlands have refused to dismiss a terrorist case against a Nigerian activist accused of plotting to bomb oil pipelines in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The activist, Sunny Ofehe denies the charges. In Nigeria, some Niger Delta leaders are accusing Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and the government of the Netherlands of orchestrating a conspiracy to persecute Ofehe.

The local leaders in the Niger Delta region have condemned what they describe as an attempt by Dutch authorities to convict Ofehe by any possible means.

In his reaction, the leader of Niger Delta Volunteer People’s Force, Asari Dokubo, described the charges against Ofehe as a sham.

“It is all a sham. It is the Western hypocrisy we are up against. They support the evil being perpetuated by their off-shore companies in the Niger Delta,” Dokubo said.

Dokubo and others find it unlikely that Ofehe, who as an activist has campaigned to protect the Niger Delta’s environment, would plot an attack that would cause environmental damage.

“How on earth will any sane government accuse Sunny Ofehe of supporting any act that will adversely affect the environment of the already degraded Niger Delta?” Dokubo asked.

Joining Dokubo, former president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Dr. Chris Ekiyor, said the actions of the Dutch government confirms that it is conspiring with Shell to persecute Ofehe.

“What Dutch Government has done has confirmed that they are actually conspiring with Shell to pollute the Niger Delta. But we are rallying Ofehe to see how far it will go. In the days ahead, they will see the action of the Niger Delta people,” Ekiyor said.

“It is quite sad that Ofehe is getting such a treatment from the Dutch Government instead of applause for creating awareness on environmental degradation in the region,” Ekiyor continued.

In addition, Ekiyor claimed that it is not possible for one man to carry out attacks on oil pipelines in the region.

“Which Pipelines did they see Sunny Bombing?” Ekiyor asked. “What of the white people that accompanied him-why were they not arrested? One man cannot carry out such attacks on oil pipelines,” Ekiyor concluded.

Similarly, Joseph Evah, Coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group, said that the Dutch Government will provoke the Niger Delta people if they continue with prosecution of Ofehe.

“If they continue with the charges, it implies that they want to provoke us. If they maltreat him, we have the capacity to arrest their nationalities and put them on trial for environmental pollution,” Evah said.

Ofehe has been having a running battle with Dutch government since leading a  delegation of Dutch Parliamentarians to observe environmental degradation allegedly caused by the operations of Shell in the Niger Delta last year.

The Niger Delta and nearby offshore oil fields are some of the world’s most productive, and Nigeria is Africa’s leading oil producer.

The evidence against Ofehe includes three taped calls made by Ofehe to a contact in Nigeria. According to the Associated Press, “his lawyer, Ed Manders, told the court Ofehe spoke to the man because he wanted to film a pipeline attack to help raise awareness of such attacks.”

Said Manders, “He wants to show the world the abuses in the Niger Delta.”



Emeka Umejei is a senior freelance journalist from Nigeria.

Copyright © 2011 Emeka Umejei. Used with Permission.