Pay Odi Victims Now, MEND Tells FG …As Zaki-Biam Demands N41.8bn Compensation

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has given the Federal Government a three-week ultimatum within which to implement the compensation of Odi people, as granted by the court, for alleged invasion of the community.

The group called for the release of its convicted leader, Henry Okah, in a statement issued last Wednesday evening, saying the judgement is a vindication of all the agitating groups in the various Niger Delta states.

The statement, signed by Comrade Azizi, the group’s factional spokesman, warned that as ruled by the court, government must pay the compensation to the affected communities within three weeks, beginning from 19th February, else MEND would be forced to enforce the ruling by any means it deems fit.

Justice Lambo Akanbi of the High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had last Tuesday awarded N37.6billion as compensation to the people of Odi community, in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The compensation is to pay the community over its invasion by armed soldiers during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

MEND commended the judge but pleaded for leniency on its members who were arrested and are being tried in Abuja.

“With this verdict coming from an arm of the Nigerian government, the entire freedom fighters in the Niger Delta (MEND and others) have been vindicated,” the statement said.

“Nigerians can now see that the invasion of our communities were carried out by the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo purely to have control of our resources.

“The verdict issued last Tuesday has been one of our key demands while we look towards Justice Kolawale of the Federal High Court, Abuja for a review of the death/life sentence of our members he sent to jail while calling for the release of our leader (Henry Okah).”

MEND argued that the 2015 elections should be contested by every qualified aspirant in the country.

It warned northern politicians and international oil companies operating within the Niger Delta region to accept the realities on ground that the PIB has come to stay.

“We (MEND) have a recent copy of this bill and will advise those concerned of the consequences if that bill is altered,” another part of the statement read.

“There should be no review whatsoever of the new fiscal terms being proposed in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is currently undergoing legislative scrutiny at the National Assembly; this we will not accept.

“Furthermore, concerning the 2015 election, we (MEND) believe that no Nigerian has mandated any person(s) (politicians) to enter into any agreement(s) on their behalf on who becomes the next Nigerian president come 2015.

“For sure, we as individuals never gave such authorisation to any individual, groups or political party. So we want to advise the likes of Governor Aliyu Babandiga of Niger State and his co-traveller, Mr. Junaid Mohammed that Nigerians and only Nigerians alone will decide who runs or becomes the next president come 2015,” the statement indicated.

MEND finally stated its readiness to negotiate with government on the release of its leader, Henry Okah, its members and also on the peace of the region “if truly government wants it.”

Meanwhile, Victims of  the military invasion of Zaki-biam in Benue State have demanded from the Federal Government the immediate payment of the N41.8 billion special and general damages compensation awarded them six years ago by a Federal High Court sitting in Markurdi over the mass killing of their people and destruction of their properties.

The money was awarded the Tiv people who, in 2001, were invaded by armed soldiers in Logo, Ukum, Kwande and Katsina Ala Local Government Areas of Benue State where over 2,000 citizens were reportedly massacred by the military.

It would be recalled that on October 22 to 24, 2001, several hundred soldiers of the Nigerian army killed more than 200 unarmed civilians and destroyed homes, shops, public buildings and other property in more than seven towns and villages in Benue State.

Gbeji was among the worst-hit locations: more than 150 people were killed there alone, while more than 20 were killed in the larger market town of Zaki-Biam, and others were killed in several other villages.

It was a well-planned military operation, carried out in reprisal for the killing of 19 soldiers in the area two weeks earlier, which was attributed to members of the Tiv ethnic group.

Those who died at the hands of the military were victims of collective punishment, targeted simply because they belonged to the same ethnic group.

The N41.8 billion was awarded against the Federal Government as compensation for the arbitrary deployment of armed soldiers against the innocent and harmless citizens who were either brutally killed or inflicted with permanent injuries.

In a strongly worded letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, the victims asked the President to respect and obey the rule of law by ordering the payment of the judgment debt without any further delay.

In the letter dated February 20, 2013 and signed by their counsel, Sebastine Hon, SAN, the victims recalled that the N41.8 billion was awarded to them by Justice Lewis Alagoa in 2007 in his judgment in their suits where they demanded payment of about N200 billion for the state assault against them.

The victims recalled that the Federal government had initially appealed the decision of the Federal High Court at the Court of Appeal, but later through its team of lawyers applied to settle the matter out of court in order to heal the wounds inflicted on them.

They however regretted that six years after the out-of-court settlement proposal, the Federal Government had not made any tangible move to meet its own part of the settlement agreement.

The letter, entitled: “Appeal to Direct Compliance with Judgment in consolidated suits Nos. FHC/MKD/CS/6/2002 and FHC/MKD/41/2001,” reads in part: “We are Solicitors, retained by Peter Orngu, Terfa Akaagba, Anongo Unishigh, Ngunengen Adura, Jabi Adula, Emelu Adula, Elizabeth Aoughakaa and Andrew Juntu, who were some of the Plaintiffs in Consolidated Suit Nos. FHC/MKD/CS/6/2002 AND FHC/MKD/CS/41/2001, delivered on 5th day of July, 2007, by the Hon. Justice A.L. Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Enugu (now a respected Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria).

“Your Excellency, the Federal High Court, in that said judgment, had awarded the total sum of N41.8 Billion Special and General Damages against the Federal Government for the unlawful termination of lives and destruction of property by Soldiers at various places in Logo, Ukum, Kwande and Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas of Benue State, an unfortunate event popularly known in ordinary Nigerian parlance as the ZAKI-BIAM INVASION”.

“The Federal Government, even though appealed to the Court of Appeal, Enugu, later applied through its lawyers for leave to settle the matter out of court, which was granted. Till date, however, no such settlement has been done and there is no serious effort aimed at achieving such settlement.”

Hon further stated: “This is more than 12 years since innocent lives were mowed down without provocation or aggression by Nigerian soldiers, and this is almost six years since an important Court like the Federal High Court ordered the Federal Government to pay compensation to the victims of that unprovoked assault.

“However, no effort has been made to assuage the feelings of those victims of crass illegality; and there seems to be no such remedy in the near future except if you intervene as a matter of urgency.It is in the light of the above that we crave your esteemed and highly valuable intervention as the father of the nation, by ordering all the necessary departments of the Federal Government to immediately comply with the terms of the judgment of Allagoa.”

He maintained that “such a step, Your Excellency, will reassure our clients and the larger Tiv interest

L-R:Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi, Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi and Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, at the National Economic Council meeting in Abuja, yesterday.