The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has flayed allegation that its leadership was involved in an assassination attempt on Mr. Fegalo Nsuke, Publicity Secretary of the body.
In a press release by MOSOP’s Administrative Manager/Secretary, Mr. Peter Nbotem, made available to National Network, the apex Ogoni body said the claim was completely false, ill conceived and totally misleading and so should be discarded.
MOSOP said the allegation was a product of hate and calumny being concocted by a faceless group and its sponsors, aimed at assassinating the character of the MOSOP President for no apparent reason other than to please some desperate men and power mongers, which it said, had proved counterproductive.
Setting the record straight, the release had said information reached the MOSOP secretariat about some text messages being circulated around for a purported meeting scheduled to be held at the Peace and Freedom Centre, Bori, on October, 2018.
The meeting, the release further said, was scheduled without the knowledge and approval of the MOSOP President and other top officials who were at the time on an official engagement outside the State.
“As a matter of fact, and as a procedure, anyone or group, including affiliated bodies of MOSOP wishing to use the Peace and Freedom Centre, Bori normally apply to the President of MOSOP, through the Administrative Manager/Secretary, who approves the use of the centre. In this case, no application was filed with the MOSOP secretariat nor approval secured”, Mr. Nbotem said.
Believing that the group’s plan to gather was for mischief, having not obtained authorization, MOSOP said it duly informed DPO of Bori, Division on the plan to invade the centre and requested him to provide adequate security around the centre on the said date of the meeting, which he (the DPO) complied with.
“By 4:00pm, the Police Officers retired to their Station. As soon as this happened, some unknown young men, numbering about ten (10) tried to forcefully enter the Centre but were repelled by the local security guards who have been securing the property since 2017. …These local security guards, are well known to Mr. Fegalo Nsuke because most of them are from his community, Yeghe. It is on record that on most occasions, Mr. Nsuke had been the one dealing with them as people from his community.
“Some moments after these boys (invaders) were chased away; Mr. Fegalo Nsuke arrived and threatened the local security members, demanding why they should chase away those boys. He, (Mr. Nsuke) even boasted that the boys were part of his group. He was politely informed that they were shocked to know that he was the masquerade behind the meeting and that the centre cannot be opened for him because there was no approved application to use the place for any meeting. Feeling exasperated, Mr. Nsuke turned his anger to abuses and started a fight with the leader of the local security team, whom he accused of betraying his community, and that he will deal with him when he becomes the President of MOSOP. It was the altercation that resulted in the fight with the local security”.
“As stated earlier, this local security had been an arrangement put in place since 2017 in the wake of the constant invasions and looting of the Centre by criminal gangs. This is well known to Mr. Nsuke because the decision to bring local security to guide the Centre was a collective decision of the MOSOP National EXCO in 2017 and he (Mr. Nsuke) was also the same person that proposed membership of the team. It is, indeed, laughable to hear Mr. Nsuke claim that these boys were hired by the MOSOP President”, the release said.
It is in the light of the above that MOSOP called on all well-meaning persons, institutions and lovers of the struggle for justice and equity to ignore and disregard such false and deceitful publication and claims my Mr. Nsuke and his faceless group.
