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HOSCON Pulls Out Of Ceasefire Deal With N’Delta Militants
Leaders of oil-bearing communities, under the aegis of Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSCON), yesterday, said they have pulled out of the ceasefire agreement and peace accord entered into with youths and militants in the Niger Delta.
This is coming on the heels of a threat by militant groups from nine states of the Niger Delta region, which vowed to resume hostilities, in support of the #EndSARS protests and neglect of the region by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.
The militants had also given multinational oil companies (IOCs) operating in the region an ultimatum to evacuate their staff to avoid human causalities.
The latest ceasefire agreement and peace accord were entered into with the militants in 2016, after several months of hostilities by the militants, which destroyed oil facilities, disrupted Nigeria’s oil production and contributed to pushing the economy into recession.
The ceasefire brought peace to the region, and buoyed Nigeria’s crude oil output.
In an interview with newsmen in Abuja, the National Chairman of HOSCON, Prince Mike Emuh, disclosed that the lives of HOSCON leaders were under threat, as four years after the ceasefire deal, majority of the issues in the agreement with the Federal Government on behalf of the militants were yet to be fulfilled.
However, he called on the youths of the Niger Delta to give peace a chance, stating that the leadership of HOSCON was meeting with some officials and aides of Buhari on how to assuage the militants and map out ways on how to avert any impending crisis.
He said, “We, the leaders of HOSCON, want to hands off the ceasefire, the peace accord that we entered into with the youths of the Niger Delta. This is because it is now a threat to us, their parents, as it is now seen that we are not allowing them to strike; yet, they are not getting jobs and are not getting anything from the crude oil and gas exploited from their communities.
“They say we have always been pleading with them not to resume hostilities, yet, there are no results from the assurances they had been given that made them to embrace the peace accord and ceasefire in the first instance. Our lives are being threatened; hence, we are resigning from mediating, either in the Amnesty programme, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) or Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.”
He said the Federal Government had approved the four-point agenda put forward by HOSCON, yet, nothing had been done in the area of implementation of the agreement, especially, as it seems that the deal had been jettisoned.
“The South-South geo-political zone is today, totally neglected in the area of agricultural interventions, while other regions of the country had been given billions of Naira.
“We want to meet with delegates of the Federal Government to let them know that danger is lurking; hence we are calling on the government to make haste and engage, and meet the demands of the oil-bearing communities,” Emuh explained.
To avert the impending hostilities, he stated that the government should immediately meet the demands of the militants, especially the ones similar to the demands HOSCON had presented to the Federal Government.
Some of the demands, according to him, which comprise the four-point demand of HOSCON, include, release of the gas flare penalty money to the host communities; release of the 13 per cent derivation allocation directly to the oil-producing communities; award of the pipeline surveillance contracts to 10,000 youths in the host communities; and waivers for 10 modular refineries’ licenses for the host communities.
He stated that years after the four-point agenda was presented to the Federal Government, nothing had been done, while he cautioned the government against politicizing the demands of the region’s youths and the militants.
The HOSCON chairman said: “It is paramount that the Federal Government should dialogue with oil-producing communities. The issue of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, traversing majority of the northern states; where are they bringing the gas from? Is it from Borno? Is it not from Niger Delta states? Yet, those states and the communities where the oil and gas are produced from are neglected.
“The region accounts for about 95 per cent of Nigeria’s revenue; yet, we are neglected, and have no say in decision-making in this country”, he complained.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.