Trouble is brewing in Irri Community, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State. The disagreement is between the members of Odede family in the community and the Nigeria Agip Oil Company Limited, NAOC.
While members of the family are lamenting that NAOC has for over 16 years been exploiting them over their land located on Ekpede, Ideze Road, Irri, without commensurable compensation, NAOC has not been able to refute the allegation.
The family, represented by Moroko Odede and Matthew Edeki, the Head of the family and Principal member of the family respectively, lamented that instead of NAOC to always fulfill the condition enshrined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on yearly basis, it has been exploiting the family with gifts of one goat and a bag of rice from its Port-Harcourt branch yearly for the past 16 years.
Edeki lamented that NAOC latched on the serious crisis in Irri community between 2001 and 2004 where many lives were lost and properties razed thereby forcing people in the community to flee for their dear lives.
‘’NAOC used the advantage of the chaos and unrest to install their equipment and other gadgets on our land without reducing the terms of the agreement into writing by way of Memorandum of Understanding. NAOC still retains the possession of the land since 2001 till date’’
Armed with the photocopy of the compensation receipt in respect of the crops, Edeki said before now, NAOC assessed the crops already planted on the land in 2001farmimg season and paid the family the sum of N1, 568,000.00 for the crops damaged by NAOC.
‘’NAOC promised that all the terms of the verbal agreement breached will be reduced into writing by MOU at the time of installation. The company then took possession of the land in 2001 and since then the family has been denied the right to farm there. After then, the community crisis in Irri erupted which NAOC has been using as excuse not to fulfill its own part of the bargain.’’ Edeki posited.
Determined to stop what he referred to as the overbearing attitude and impunity by NAOC, the family has given 30 days ultimatum to NAOC to execute the MOU, between them for the use of their family land since 2001.
In a letter dated October 22, 2018, signed by Simon Ngbakor, Esq, on behalf of the Odede family and addressed to NAOC, and apart from threatening to approach the court for redress if it fails to accede to their demands, the family also demanded the payment of N510, 000,000.00 for the use of the land being the total sum of the N30,000,000.00 annually since 2002.
The family, in the letter said the land, which their progenitor left for them, formed part of Odede family land and have been farming on as that has being the major occupation in the family, stating that sometimes in 2001, the family was approached by NAOC to use the land for flow station.
‘’Thereafter verbal agreement was reached with our clients and your company wherein it was agreed that the sum of N10,000,000.00 will be given to our clients annually for the use of the land. ’’
‘’We were informed by our clients that one of the verbal terms of the agreement in respect of employment of members of our clients’ family and that of contracts were not also met by your company. All the attempts made to see that your company reduces the verbal agreement into writing and the need to comply with the terms proved abortive as our clients were always driven back by the security attachment in your company’’
‘’We further demand, and rightly too, that the MOU between our clients family and NAOC, Port-Harcourt branch be reduced into writing in respect of the land, the subject matter of this letter’’
While Ngbakor said that the demand letter serves as pre action notice, he warned that any transaction in respect of the land without the consent of Odede and Edekiis is of no effect.
Meanwhile, several efforts to get reaction from NAOC have not yielded results as the contact person promised to get back but did not.
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