BY Emmanuel Elebeke & Ebele Onuora

Worried by due process breaches attending the acquisition of 200-hectares of farmland in six Ogoni communities, the Social and Economic Action Centre, SERAC, Ogoni Solidarity Forum, OSF, and Ogoni Civil Society Platform, OCSP, have called on the Federal Government to prevail on the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amechi and the state Ministry of Agriculture to urgently cease all ongoing survey, plants’ destruction, intrusion into privately-owned farmland as well as seizure of the said farm lands in Ogoni land.

The groups spoke, Monday, at a briefing by the SERAC in Lagos, to press home the demand of the Ogoni people for justice and respect of their fundamental human rights by the state government.

They are accusing the state government of acquiring Ogoni farmland without following due process, contending that the land is their main source of livelihood.

The government had acquired 200 hectares of land in Ueken, Korokoro, Luusue Sogho, Zor Sogho, Barakaani Sogho, Teka Sogho, Akporo Sogho, Okwale, Kaani in Tai and Kuhna Local Government Areas of Rivers State to enable a Mexican investor, union De Iniciativa S.A De C.V, undertake a commercial banana plantation project.

The government was said to have used policemen to dislodge, harass and abuse owners of the said land, in which two youths were allegedly killed for resisting the government’s action.

Chairman of SERAC, Dr. Felix Muoka, said they were concerned about the human rights abuse by the state government, given that the people have a long historical burden of neglect and abuse of human rights by both the government and oil companies in the area.