MOSOP Accuses NSA Of ‘Dishonest’ Peace Talks On Oil Extraction, Demands 20% Resource Royalties For Ogoniland Development

The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has strongly criticized the ongoing peace talks led by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) regarding the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.

Describing the process as “dishonest,” MOSOP condemned its exclusion from the discussions, asserting that any negotiations about the region’s future must be transparent and inclusive.

The group also reiterated its demand for 20% of profits from resource extraction in Ogoni to be allocated for infrastructural development, insisting that the federal government address long-standing grievances before considering any oil operations in the area.

During a press briefing in Beera, Gokana Local Government Area, leader of the Forum of Kingdom Coordinators and Chapters of MOSOP, Celestine Viura, expressed support for the proposed Ogoni Development Authority (ODA) but insisted that any oil operator working in the region must allocate 20% of its profits to Ogoni’s development.

“The Forum of Kingdom Coordinators and Chapter Leaders of MOSOP, FKCCL MOSOP, endorsed the ODA proposal as an acceptable pathway to a permanent resolution of the Ogoni problem and maintain that the said proposal captures the demands of the Ogoni people as expressed in the Ogoni Bill of Rights and have had an overwhelming support from the Ogoni people as expressed at the Ogoni National Congress of November 30, 2024,” he stated.

Regarding the ongoing discussions about resuming oil production, Viura rejected the peace talks, emphasizing:

“We want to register our very strong disapproval of ongoing talks, led by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), to resume oil production in Ogoni. Our position is that the entire exercise is dishonest, as it excluded the MOSOP leadership, which is a critical voice to which the Ogoni people pay allegiance and is simply an attempt by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to cajole our people and create the wrong impression that the Ogoni people have never made their demands known nor do they really know what they want,” the group stated.

The FKCCL MOSOP further condemned what it called an attempt by the ONSA to misrepresent the true aspirations of the Ogoni people, stating: “It should be very clear that as a people, our struggle led by MOSOP has been sustained for over three decades, and our demands for a just and fair treatment have been very clear. ONSA does not need to redefine our needs nor tell us what we want.”

Additionally, MOSOP called for an investigation into the killings of four prominent Ogoni leaders—Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, Mr. Albert Badey, and Chief Theophilus Orage—on May 21, 1994.

The group also reiterated its call for the decriminalization of the nine Ogoni activists executed by the Nigerian government under General Sani Abacha on November 10, 1995.

“We strongly reject all forms of abuses, use of state force against the Ogoni people, forceful resumption of oil extraction in Ogoni, divide and conquer tactics and manipulations as currently conducted by the Office of the National Security Adviser in desperate attempts to trample upon the demands for basic rights to fair treatment and justice for the Ogoni people,” Viura stated.

Viura urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and halt any actions by the ONSA that could escalate tensions in Ogoniland, warning that attempts to restart oil extraction without addressing the long-standing grievances of the Ogoni people could lead to further unrest.

“We urge fairness, mutuality, and justice in a collective approach in the search for a solution to the Ogoni problem and note that, in good conscience, considering the huge costs of the Ogoni struggle, the loss of over 4,000 Ogoni people to state-backed persecution by the Nigerian Government, it is unfair and unjust for the Nigerian authorities to contemplate a resumption of oil production in Ogoni in the midst of current dissent without considering the safety and demands of the Ogoni people for fairness.”

In closing, MOSOP encouraged the government to engage in sincere and transparent dialogue with the organization to achieve a lasting and peaceful resolution.

“We therefore urge the government to explore available windows for a genuine and peaceful engagement with MOSOP and pledge to cooperate with such outcomes as much as it is transparent, honest and genuinely driven to address the developmental concerns of the Ogoni people,” Viura demanded.