AGIP Is Killing Us; Omoku Youths Allege
...Accuse Oil Multinational of using Soldiers to Attack Unarmed, Peaceful Protesters.

The Omoku Youth Federation (OYF) has accused the Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (naoc) of engaging Nigerian Army soldiers led by its military attachè, Lieutenant Colonel Garba Umar, the Commander of the 5th Battalion of the Nigerian Army, to mercilessly beat up peaceful protesters at Ob/Ob gas plant, operated by NAOC in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Speaking to the media on his hospital bed, Dr. Lucky Ojobah, who led the protest, expressed bitterness at the manner at which Agip degenerated to terrorising innocent citizens who merely exercised their rights to free expression companyas guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.

Dr. Ojobah regretted that NAOC chose to use money that would have better been channeled to achieving its corporate social responsibility, to forcefully disperse host Communities who only dared to complain of marginalization and total neglect of youths of their host Communities.

According to Dr. Ojobah:
"Omoku comprises of 27 communities. It is the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, and plays host to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) Limited. In the whole of west Africa, Omoku Gas Plant is ranked the second largest. That means that if the provisions of the local content act is adhered to in Omoku OB/OB gas plant, none of the youths in the communities in Omoku will be unemployed. Sadly, for over 18 years, NAOC/Agip has bluntly refused to conduct any overt employment of it's host communities.. Rather, it has through its General Manager, Human Resources, Mrs Callista Azogu, performed ethnic cleansing that annihilates the Niger Deltans from holding key positions in Agip. Instead, it's employment has always been manipulated such that it has over time favoured her Ibo kinsmen.

According to Dr. Ojobah, beneficiaries of these clandestine employments include:
1) Mrs. Callista Azogu - General Manager, Human Resources/Deputy Manager, ENI Group in Nigeria;

2) Chinwe Njoku – Division Manager, corporate Legal Services;

3) Lawrence Osakwe - Operations Division Manager (covering land area of OB/OB and Swamp Area of Brass);

4) Pius Ogunjiofo - Division Manager, Upstream and Commercial Negotiations;

5) Chidozie Okafor - Division Manager, Legal service, Port Harcourt District;

6) Uche Udemba - Division Manager, Onshore Projects & Engineering Division;

7) Ijeoma Dom-Nwachukwu - Division Manager, Industrial Relations Port Harcourt;

Eluchie Azuka – Division Manager, Lagos Liaison Office;

9) Uche Amaechi - Deputy Division Manager, HSE;

10) Chris Illodigwe – Deputy Division Manager, Exploration Projects;

11) Chris Eke - Stakeholders Management and Community Development Division Manager (promoted and appointed to take over from Barrister Dennis Masi);

12) Samuel Uwadionor – Human Resources Divison Manager.

Continuing, Dr. Ojobah disclosed that, "Unfortunately, the few Rivers/Bayelsa indigenes in Agip who were management staff were humiliated out of their positions to favour those from Ibo. Such personnel are:

1. Danuiro Dan-Jumbo –Operations Division Manager, removed and replaced with Lawrence Osakwe. Osakwe was promoted and is now in charge of all Agip Operations in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa States;

2. Richard Orianzi – Division Manager Human Resources (Removed and replaced with with Sam Uwaidionor. Uwadionor is to be deputized by Ijeoma Dom-Nwachukwu (Appointed Deputy Division Manager Industrial Relation);

3. Dr. Yakie Ogon - Division Manager Human Resources, who was unceremiously removed from this role by Mrs. Callista Azugo. At this moment, he does not have an office;

4. Aye Odibi - (Removed as Organization Manager, Human Resources, and sent to obscurity);

5. Dr. Ibimoye Porbeni - (Removed as the Medical Manager and replaced with Dr. Linus Nnakenyi, from Ibo;

6. Theophillous Boufini - (Removed from Training Manager and replaced with an Igbo Chidera Muagba);

8. John Mpi – First class Engineer unceremously thrown out of the company when he was functioning as the Stakeholders Management and Community Development Division Manager Port Harcourt;

9. Ini Amiebi - (Removed as Training Assistant Manager and replaced with Chidera Muagba from Oguta, Imo State -Same community as the General Manager Human Resources. Chidera has since been elevated to a full manager;

10. Julius Obuala - Thrown out as Land Area Manager and replaced by an Ibo;

11. Naina Osima - Thrown out as the Engineering, Estate Maintainance and Infrastructure Manager and replaced by an Ibo Mr.Chidi Ibeauchi.

Speaking further, Dr. Ojobah said, "the General Manager, Human Resources, Mrs. Callista Azogu, has so far hijacked all key positions of NAOC and has been conducting secret employments into NAOC. This puts host communities in terrible disadvantaged positions in favour of her kinsmen, and this can best be described as ETHNIC CLEANSING OF OMOKU PEOPLE, RIVERS, BAYELSA AND DELTA INDIGENES. Such marginalization and discrimination of host communities of NAOC are potential harbingers of anarchy, which may permanently halt oil explorations and exploitation in the deprived areas.

"Omoku Youth Federation (OYF), the apex youth body of Omoku Communities, had on several occasions written to NAOC for audience to discuss issues of margimalisation of Omoku host communities and the non-implementation of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as agreed with the company. Unfortunately, NAOC chose not to honour our letters. It will interest you to know that, for over 18 years, naoc has not conducted any open employment, but because of the ethnic cleansing supervised by Mrs. Callista Azogu, the General Manager, Human Resources of NAOC, employments in NAOC have since been in the secret, to favour a particular tribe.

"On 30th June, 2021, OYF embarked on a peaceful protest to OB/OB GAS PLANT, OMOKU. Rather than NAOC call OYF for a meeting, NAOC sponsored thugs to brutalize the peaceful protesters, vandalised their vehicles, motorcycles and other valuables worth several millions of Naira. Many youths of Omoku were severely injured and hospitalized for several weeks. This inhuman act was successfully supervised by military attaché to NAOC.


Some of the hoodlums hired to brutalize the peaceful protesters are currently being remanded in prison custody, as the case is still in court. OYF has written petitions on the barbaric act, to necessary quarters.

"In continuing the struggle for the development of Omoku Communities, OYF wrote more letters to NAOC to still request for audience, but NAOC still neglected our letters, as there were no efforts made by NAOC to call for discussions.

" OYF on 30th of August, 2021 embarked on another peaceful protest to OB/OB Gas Plant, Omoku. While the Youths were patiently waiting for a call for a meeting, at the time the DSS boss in omoku invited me to inform me on 31st August, 2021, that he has interfaced for OYF to meet with Naoc management in Port Harcourt on 1st September, 2021, Naoc sponsored another round of brutalization of peaceful protesters, this time, not only supervised by military attaché of NAOC but the Nigerian Army in their numbers, headed by Lieutenant Colonel Garba Umar, the 5 battalion Commander, brutalized peaceful protesters and destroyed protesters valuables, while other valuables were lost.

"While we were still counting our losses away from the gas plant, the Army still rounded us up and hit us mercilessly. Many of the protesters are still lying in hospitals in critical conditions, two of which are still in coma. I managed to honour this interview, not minding the enormous pains I am passing through on my ribs, arms and head, as I lay here on the hospital bed.

" NAOC should be ready to vacate Omoku Gas Plant if any of the victims dies, as the Communities are ready for mother-of-all protest against naoc never witnessed for the five decades that NAOC has been in operation in Omoku", Dr. Ojobah said.

All attempt to reach the Group Managing Director of Agip or the security manager, proved abortive, as their phones could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.

The major problem in this part of the world is Nepotism and tribalism..

Why remove qualified people to put people who are from your tribe or related to you.


Those Omoku (PH) boys are deadly oo, after making them jobless, I trust their kidnapping skills, na una workers go still suffer am

Hmmnn. We will be back