By Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa—Chairman of Odi Destruction Case Prosecution Committee, ODCPC, Prof. Kobina Imananagha, has blamed the recent orgy of violence that rocked Odi in Bayelsa State, which led to the hospitalization of nine persons, on desperate attempt by some persons to take control of the community’s N9 billlion compensation fund.

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had, last February, ordered the Federal Government to pay N37.6 billion to Odi community, which was invaded and destroyed in 1999 by the Nigerian Army.

But the government, rather than complying with the order, went to the Appeal Court six times, seeking to overturn the initial verdict, only to fail on each occasion.

However, it took the intervention of the United Kingdom for the Federal Government to settle for N15 billion as final payment to the community in which the consortium of lawyers, collected 40 per cent of the sum as agreed leaving the community with N9 billion.

Prof. Imananagha, who relieved the turn of events in the community at a briefing in Yenagoa, said it was painful to see Odi drifting into such avoidable chaos and confusion in the midst of plenty.

Recalling the struggle for justice which lasted about 10 years, he said that but for the intervention of the United Kingdom, the Federal Government would not have negotiated and paid N15 billion compensation to the community.

The Federal Government, according to him, tried all delay tactics at its disposal, including litigations, to avoid paying the N37.6 billion compensation which the Federal High Court, Port-Harcourt, ordered it to pay the community on February 19, 2014.

Imananagha said that the saving grace was a London court which the community approached and which issued an October 21, 2014 deadline to government to negotiate settlement and pay the agreed compensation to Odi people.

He dismissed as untrue claims that his committee tampered with the compensation fund.