A factional leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Bari-ara Kpalap has condemned in strong terms, the army invasion of K-Dere Community in Gokana Local Government Area (Ogoniland) and killing of people on the orders of Shell that brought the army to the area.
Kpalap in a statement signed by his group’s publicity secretary/Spokesman, Fyneface Dumnamene noted that there was no incident or crisis in K-Dere community to warrant the invasion, shooting and killings by the Nigerian Army personnels who were providing security for Shell’s staff in nearby community.
The factional MOSOP President, who himself is from K-Dere community narrated how the Army personnels who were hired by Shell to provide security for their staff working on a ruptured part of the trans-Niger Delta pipeline after an explosion and fire outbreak allegedly caused by acts of sabotage abandoned their duty posts and surprisingly went into K-Dere community, barricaded the roads, started harassing people, shooting sporadically, sacked the market and molested elderly women and other members of the community without any provocation. The MOSOP leader lamented how the Army shot and killed 36years old Mr. Nen-elkpege Lezor Legbara with other members of the community sustaining different degrees of injuries from bullet wounds during the army invasion on April 19.
Mr. Kpalap said the “corporational soldiers” acted on the instructions of Shell to cause this new havoc in the Ogoni community and call on both Shell and the Nigerian army to stop further killings of Ogoni people as Ogoni is not at war with anybody. The MOSOP President further call on the authorities to investigate the army invasion of K-Dere and other Ogoni communities including Yeghe that was recently invaded and bring the soldiers that perpetrated this violence and killings to book.
