Okomu oil palm PLC: Killing poor Edo Communities for Oil palm trees

By Comrade Tony Erha

The ongoing national and global  advocacy /protest/mass actions are supportive of over 28 local forested communities cutting across the four local government areas of Owan West, Uhunmwode, Ovia North East and Ovia South West, respectively in Edo State, Nigeria, and intended to stop the impunities by the Okomu PLC, and to get justice for the poor communities and bring Okomu PLC to book.

The mass action, fired on by a global movement/stakeholders, has commenced in full jars with a massive protest actions which crippled commercial activities in the city centre of Benin, the Edo State capital, as been prominently reported on television, radio, social media and by newspapers across the globe.

During the massive protests, the various forested communities supported by Civil Society include Orhua,Oke-Irhue, Umokpe, Ekpan, Agudezi, Ozalla, Uhonmora, Eme-Ora, Sabongida-Ora, Oke-Ora, Avbiosi, Uzebba, Ugbebezi, Atoruru, Ogbetu, Sobe, Agbanikaka, Owan, Uhiere. Odiguetue, Odighi. Others include Agbede, Maklloli, Oweike, Ijaw Camp, Okomu Camp etc.

At this critical moment when climate change is threatening the world and people are at the mercy of harsh weather conditions, Okomu PLC, a sub of foreign originated multinational plantation firm, operating in Edo State, Nigeria continues with its  promotion of deforestation and aggravating the climate change disaster in over 28  local communities spreading across four local government areas of the rich rainforest region of Edo.

Against a revocation order of the Edo State Government, the last authority on land matters in the state, Okomu PLC, led by Dr. Graham Hefer, a South African nationality, has violated the Nigerian law by bulldozing and planting oil palm trees on the over 11,750 hectares of high forest land and community farms, which the state government prohibited Okomu PLC to vacate by the revocation order, after deliberations in the Edo State Executive Council's meetings as published on November, 5th 2015, page 48-50 of the Edo State Government Gazette no 19.

Okomu PLC has further violated the Edo and Nigerian law by moving armed men in police and army uniforms as security cover in its desperation to take over the land. Okomu PLC and its white South African are bent on entrenching in Edo and Nigerian soil, the former bad examples of the evil Apartheid policy, with the bulldozing of important plants and animals and natural forms (biodiversity) of the high forest land and its operational principle which bothers on environmental and human rights violations.

Apart from farm crops on thousands of hectares belonging to the poor farmers that are being destroyed, Okomu PLC has also destroyed and contaminated the communities' only sources of water with the discharge of deadly chemicals and effluence, of dangerous health implications.

Okomu PLC had also concocted a draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study report, with the view to using it to legitimizing its illegal acquisition. Earlier on since January 18th, 2014 Okomu PLC also disregarded a letter that was written to it by the Environment Minister on that date, directing the company to carry out a comprehensive  EIA study on the forest land, which the minister regarded as mandatory, being that it is of a Grade One Forest land.

The Owan Forest Zone, comprising a three-in-one forest reserves of Ehor/Owan/Iuleha-Ora-Ozalla is the last remnants of the lowland rainforest region of the Niger Delta mangroves, which ought to be retained as a reserve.

While most of the standing high forest had been earmarked as a protected area and extension of the present-day Okomu National Park, because of the higher presence of biodiversity, it is waterbed that houses lots of ecotourism potentials.

These also include traditional places like the Eziza nu Umokpe shrine, Idia n' Iye Esigie (Mother of Oba Esigie) shrine etc.; some traditional worship centres that are significant in Edo history.