No less than two persons have been killed in Okobe community, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, by soldiers attached to a pipeline surveillance team of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
Community sources said that the security team also burnt down three houses in the area during the operation in the community between Friday and Saturday.
The sources said that the community had been under fire by the surveillance team led by one Mr. Brown while over 10 people from the community have been arrested.
Tuduru Ede, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who is an indigene of the community condemned the invasion.
Ede who urged Agip to call its surveillance team to order, regretted that the invasion had affected economic and social activities in the area, noting that many persons have deserted the community.
He condemned the indiscriminate arrest of people known to be from Okobe, adding that people of the area did not indulge in illegal oil bunkering.
Ede urged Abili Nigeria Limited, the surveillance company, to move to the pipelines where the oil thieves operate to tackle theft and vacate the community, adding that the development has sacked many residents from the community.
He said: “I am calling on Nigeria Agip Oil Company to ensure that its security operatives, its contractors do go to Okobe to be harassing community indigenes. They should not go there to indiscriminately arrest anybody at all in the name of looking for people indulging in illegal oil bunkering.
“There are no Agip pipelines in Okobe town. There are no fuel dumps there. Okobe indigenes and traders are going about lawful business. But this current situation where Agip and its contractor go into that community everyday to arrest people, is becoming too alarming. Agip should be prepared to face the troubles with the contractor it is maintaining.
“Instead of policing their pipelines they are coming to Okobe to burn houses, burn properties and cars. Agip is using the guise of illegal oil bunkering to harass the people. As we speak some persons have deserted the community.
“It is enough. I hope the directors in Agip should stop it immediately. We are not in a military region. They have arrested more than 10 persons. They killed two persons yesterday, Saturday. Is it in the community that contractor should come and show any form of force?”
Ede further said the community would take steps against the firm if proper thing is not done immediately, saying that the residents now live in fear over the development”.
