Some residents of Kula community in Rivers State are demanding justice after the reported recovery of five bodies, 24 hours after a boat accident in the area. On Thursday, the residents carried the corpses in three ambulances from Abonnema to Government House in Port Harcourt to present their grievances to the state government. They are calling for the arrest and prosecution of whoever is found responsible.
The protesters were received by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Sonny Ewonwu, who was accompanied by Honour Sirawoo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications. They assured the community that the matter would receive appropriate attention and appealed for calm.
Max Shipping Services Limited has denied allegations linking its Chairman, Cletus Ibeto, to the incident. Speaking to Channels Television, it said the vessel was hired by another company for deployment at the location. It said its contract was with that firm, and that the vessel’s deployment at Oil Mining Lease 55 involved separate petroleum operations and community arrangements between the hirer and the end user.
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According to Max Shipping, the hirer had assumed specified responsibilities under their Marine Equipment Hire Agreement, including operational exigencies, community settlements, security of the vessel and personnel, and demobilisation.
It added that it was trying to recover its equipment after prolonged unpaid hire fees and repeated unsuccessful attempts to get settlement from the hirer, and it urged the community to hold the operators responsible for any spillage.
A Kula community leader, Anabs Sara Igbe, said the accident happened when uniformed men arrived with a gunboat to escort the vessel and were resisted by youths protesting an alleged oil spill. This allegedly led to the capsizing of the boat, which was carrying about 15 passengers from the community.
