JTF nabs 14 Ijaw youths over alleged attempt to attack Shell flow station

YENEGOA—FOURTEEN youths from Ogbotobor community, Ekeremor council area of Bayelsa State, have been arrested by operatives of the Joint Task Force, JTF, over alleged attempts to invade a Shell flow station operated by SAIPEM Nig.Limited.



Sources at the community disclosed that the youths invaded the flow station on Monday following a leadership tussle rocking the community alleging that “operators of the facilities are in support of a factional leadership of the community.”

Speaking to Vanguard, yesterday, Richard Ziware, Chairman, Egbema Cloistral Development, ECD, said: “Some miscreants went to the Saipem Flow Station owned by Shell with intent to vandalise facilities and in the process they were cornered and arrested by JTF operatives in the area. The community leadership tussle is not enough for anybody to invade oil facilities. They were arrested right there at the station. But the factional leader who led the youths to the station was not arrested. He is not the chairman of the community but wants to force himself on the oil company to recognize him as chairman.”

However, a staff of the company who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed: “We do not have any problem with the community as employment and contract opportunities have been given to the community in line with signed FCO. They forcefully stopped operations in the station hence we called the attention of the security who apprehended them.”

Debunking claims by the ECD chairman, an indigene of the community stated that the youths including the chairman of Agbayama community were protesting the deprivation of employment changes of 109 and 18 sub-contracts made for the communities in a Freedom To Operate agreement between the host communities and SPDC.

The source asserted: “The agreement between the communities and SPDC covers the AGG Project of one Saipem Construction Company. Since 2014, SPDC has refused to employ persons from the host communities as agreed.

“The communities have reported the case to the relevant government offices and the governor through the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor, Oil and Gas and they have all advised SPDC to follow as agreed.”