Oluwafunbi Bello 
RIVERS, Nigeria – The Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI) issues a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government over the alleged diversion of a $300 million compensation fund, warning that failure to act will trigger national and international protests.
The demand was made on Saturday during a demonstration in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, where scores of protesters, including elderly residents, gathered to demand accountability for funds meant for Ogoni development and welfare.
OLI leader Douglas Fabeke tells journalists that the protest marks a turning point after decades of unsuccessful appeals to authorities over the disputed compensation fund.
“We have waited long enough for justice,” Fabeke says. “If the Federal Government fails to act, we will take this struggle to Abuja and foreign embassies for international intervention.”
The group accuses unnamed politicians, including a former Rivers State governor, of diverting the funds and insists that accountability is non-negotiable.
OLI also calls for an immediate halt to what it describes as illegal oil extraction by an indigenous oil firm operating in Lekuma communities of Tai Local Government Area. Protesters carry placards reading “Account for Ogoni Funds” and “Stop Illegal Oil Drilling in Lekuma.”
Fabeke recalls the devastation suffered by 17 Lekuma Ogoni communities between 1993 and 1998 during military rule, alleging that more than 300 people were killed and thousands displaced.
“Oil activities are resuming without remediation or resettlement. This poses grave environmental and health risks,” he says.
The group declares all private oil firms’ persona non grata in Ogoni land and demands that only the Federal Government, through NNPCL, oversee Oil Mining Lease 11 after genuine community dialogue.
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Mirian Gom 
Korede Abdullah 
