As stakeholders in the oil and gas sector of the economy converged at Eko Convention Centre in Lagos for the Sub Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) which kicked off today Tuesday, February 10, 2026, residents of the pipeline axis of Ayambo Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State have been kicked out of their homes too.
Some of the residents who live around the right of way of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) said they were given less than 24 hours to vacate their residences by Kristal Polis Limited, a contractor to NNPCL.
One of them, Francis Jumbo said a detachment of heavily armed policemen from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Bonny Division led by their Divisional Police Officer came with the representatives of Kristal Polis Limited to their residences to threaten and intimidate them early morning of Tuesday 10 February 2026
The residents carrying placards with inscriptions such as “NNPCL Don’t Demolish Our Properties”, “We Say No To Illegal Demolitions”, “We Say No Illegal Land Grabbing”, among others sang and marched around the community.
Another resident, Wisdom Jumbo lamented that after the initial adjustment of three meters, the company representatives came back demanding for another 25 meters adjustment which is completely outside the right of way, asserting that there was no consultation at all with the residents.
Tamuno-Omoni Longjohn has acquired and lived in his property for over 50 years but is surprised over the recent developments, saying that representatives of Shell came in 2025 to discuss the relocation of their properties adding that he was paid N750,000 as compensation for his property.
Several other residents complained that aside not consulting with them, the timing was not convenient, stressing that majority of them outside the right of way were still harassed to give up their properties, calling on the Bonny Local Government Chairman, Traditional Institution and other stakeholders to come to their aid.
Efforts by our correspondent to reach Kristal Polis Limited and the NNPC Limited proved abortive as neither of them responded to calls or messages sent to their representatives.
Similar efforts to reach the Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command on the allegation of harassment and intimidation by the Police in Bonny were also unsuccessful as at the time of this report.
Conversely, conversations on the Nigeria’s and Africa’s energy sector pervaded various sessions of the SAIPEC 2026 Conference that kicked off today.
Concerned stakeholders are optimistic that debilitating issues such as rights denial, mistreatment of host communities, human rights abuses and other underhand activities by oil and gas companies across Africa that have over the year created a disconnect between multinational and their hosts would be addressed.
