The Amanyanabo of Dieama-Okpoama, His Royal Highness Ingo Ikele Ikaba, has absolved Nembe Exploration and Production Company Limited of responsibility for the communal clash at the Ikei/Dieama axis of Brass Island, Bayelsa State, which claimed the life of Alfred Ojoko.
The monarch’s position comes as Nembe E&P formally rejected its alleged involvement in the incident, demanding an immediate retraction of a Bayelsa State Government statement linking the company to the crisis.
Similarly, lawyers representing the Ikei Ama community and other parties have disclaimed any involvement in the October 19 violence, insisting that an earlier land inspection exercise was peaceful and unrelated to the fatal confrontation.
In a statement, Ikaba described the deceased, popularly known as ‘Heavyweight’, as his brother and personal assistant, saying attempts to connect his death to Nembe’s land acquisition and lease process were inaccurate.
He explained that the process began early last year and had progressed peacefully, with both Dieama and Ikei communities cooperating to facilitate the proposed development.
According to him, Nembe had undertaken two previous visits to the area without any incident, stressing that the land negotiations should not be confused with the circumstances surrounding Ojoko’s death.
The monarch instead identified longstanding tensions over black sand mining and unresolved land-boundary disputes as issues requiring attention, insisting that they were unrelated to the oil company’s activities.
He urged the public to avoid spreading unverified accounts capable of unfairly implicating the company and escalating tensions within the communities.
Meanwhile, Nembe E&P said the state government’s directive suspending its land acquisition activities portrayed it as an actor in the violence despite the absence of evidence linking its operations to the incident.
The company, while condoling with the bereaved family, maintained that it neither caused, instigated, nor participated in the confrontation.
It explained that its only connection to the proposed land acquisition was a proposal presented by a third party with which it had other business transactions.
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Nembe further stated that it had no representative on the team that visited the site and that the exercise was concluded without incident.
The company said its preliminary findings indicated that the dispute stemmed from opposition to alleged black sand mining activities attributed to Starant Mining Limited, alongside unresolved disagreements over community leadership and control of resources.
It also questioned the government’s decision to impose what it described as a blanket and indefinite suspension of its land acquisition activities without identifying any specific breach, providing a review timeline, or stating the legal basis for the action.
Nembe further recalled an earlier incident, allegedly more than 200 kilometres from its operational acreage, in which it said the government had similarly associated it with events unrelated to its operations.
It called on the state government to disclose the evidence supporting the allegations and explain the basis for repeatedly linking the company to community disturbances.
Describing the government’s action as damaging to its reputation and commercial interests, the company demanded an immediate public retraction of the announcement, with the withdrawal given prominence comparable to the original statement.
It also reserved its legal rights to seek redress over what it considered damaging and unsupported allegations.
In a related development, solicitors representing the Amanyanabo of Ikei Ama, Okpoama Kingdom, HRH Ebi Spencer-Tekenah, the Tiefienyo Furo Family and the people of Ikei Ama also denied their clients’ involvement in the violence.
In a disclaimer signed by Chief Eric Tekena-Ayeba Tonye of TEE Legal, the lawyers described reports linking their clients to the incident as false.
They maintained that the earlier land inspection involving members of the Tiefienyo Furo family and representatives of an indigenous oil exploration company was peaceful and ended several hours before the violence occurred.
The solicitors said no credible evidence had established a connection between the exercise and the fatal incident.
They called for a proper investigation into alleged illegal black sand mining activities in the area and urged the media and public to avoid circulating unverified allegations.
The lawyers also condemned the loss of life and expressed support for a thorough and impartial investigation by the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant authorities.
