Nigerian environmental groups on Tuesday criticised a government plan to restart oil production in the troubled Ogoniland, calling for a pause until substantial discussions with local communities are finalised.
Ogoniland, located in Nigeria’s coastal Rivers state, serves as a critical area of concern for pollution within the oil-rich Niger River delta region. A significant cleanup effort, amounting to $1 billion, was initiated in 2018 after an extensive study conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme in 2011.
Over 20 organisations, such as Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, and the Ogoni Solidarity Forum, have condemned the proposal, asserting that it overlooks the environmental and social harm inflicted by years of oil extraction.
On Tuesday, the groups issued a 14-point demand, criticising the government for engaging in discussions with a chosen few from the region, claiming it jeopardises the pursuit of environmental justice and the remediation of the severely polluted environment.
“This decision disregards the enduring environmental, social, and economic injustices faced by the Ogoni people and undermines efforts toward sustainable development, environmental justice, community empowerment, and cleanup of the devastated environment,” the groups said in a statement.
Ogoniland locals have a storied history of resistance to oil extraction on their land. Their struggle gained international attention in the 1990s with the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders by the then-Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha.
They are also calling for a $1 trillion commitment for clean-up and compensation, the immediate release of a confiscated Saro-Wiwa memorial sculpture, and a full implementation of the UN report that recommended a comprehensive clean-up of Ogoniland.
“We stand in solidarity with the Ogoni people in their fight for justice and sustainable development,” the groups concluded.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
