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Bayelsa Communities Accuse Shell, JTF Of Criminal Profiling​

Communities impacted by the rupture of the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC)-operated Trans Ramos pipeline, have accused the Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary and the Joint Task Force (JTF), of profiling them as criminals.

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Communities impacted by the rupture of the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC)-operated Trans Ramos pipeline, have accused the Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary and the Joint Task Force (JTF), of profiling them as criminals and vandals.

The communities had earlier declined to sign the draft report of the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the sites affected by the May 17 spill.

They had contended that the land surface of the impacted area in Aughoro 1 is 1,825 hectares, while the draft document recorded 113.3 hectares.

Victor Akamu, Chairman, Community Development Committee of Aghoro 1, narrating to Vanguard said: “We were taken to a room where detailed profiles of us were taken, including our finger prints, biometric details and our photographs.  We were temporarily held for almost three hours of profiling before we were eventually asked to go. I wanted to ask if it was part of JTF’s job to force a community to sign a JIV report?

“Shell should stop using JTF to intimidate our community. For the past 20 years, there has been no case of pipeline vandalism. This leakage was due to a ruptured pipeline caused by corrosion, yet they called us vandals. It is unacceptable.”

Responding to Akamu’s claim of criminal profiling, Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman, Commander of JTF, said they had only reacted to reports of persons attempting to disrupt the repair of the damaged pipeline.

He said: “We got reports that some persons were disrupting ongoing repairs of the ruptured pipelines and that was why some people were profiled. I was emphatic that we cannot tolerate anyone taking the law into his hands.

“I told them to resolve their differences on the negotiating table so that the operation is not disrupted, our mandate is to safeguard oil facilities and we do not want the disagreement to degenerate further.

“We conduct our duties in compliance [with] our rules of engagement. We invited the parties to mediate and encourage them to dialogue and use the established channels of resolving conflicts.”

Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager of SPDC, also denied applying any form of coercion on the Aughoro community leaders.

Meanwhile, analysts have claimed that the Joint Investigation Visit, which is part of the National Oil Spill and Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA’s) response to spill containment, is fraught with issues of transparency and coordination between host communities, the affected oil firms and the government agencies involved.

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Oil