FG Probes Claims of Land Acquisition by Agip and Shell in Bayelsa

The Federal Government has initiated an inquiry into allegations of land acquisition by oil-producing communities in Bayelsa State against certain multinational oil corporations – the Nigerian Agip Oil Company and Shell Petroleum Development Company.

Heading the investigative team is Engr Kamoru Busari, the Director of the Upstream Department at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, along with representatives from the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, the Nigerian Police, and the Bayelsa State Government.

They have embarked on a fact-finding mission to Biseni, Enebele, Ogbia, and Gbaran Communities in Bayelsa State.A statement released by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in Abuja on Monday indicated that the investigation was prompted by a petition from Agi Bestman, the Coordinator of the Niger Delta MOU, Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), representing the affected communities.In the petition, the communities alleged that the two oil companies – Agip and Shell – engaged in land appropriation without providing adequate compensation, particularly through insufficient payment of tenancy fees.

The experts initiated the proceedings by meeting with high-ranking officials from the Bayelsa State government, including the Commissioner and Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Mineral Resources in Yenagoa, the state capital.Subsequently, the team visited Biseni Kingdom, Ogbia, Gbaran, and Enebele Community, where they conducted town hall meetings with traditional leaders, landowners, and local residents.

The team conducted a tour of oil installations in the Biseni Kingdom, including Idu Well 1, 13 & 14 operated by Agip, and Adibawa Well 1 and Koroama Manifold operated by SPDC, among others. Throughout the interactive sessions, the chiefs and landowners expressed that their ancestral lands were seized by the oil companies without appropriate compensation or rent remuneration to the families.

Some families claimed to have received inadequate payments, while others alleged non-payment altogether.Agip, in correspondence to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, expressed a desire to convene a meeting with the petitioner and the groups he represents to address their grievances.Meanwhile, Shell communicated with the committee’s Chairman, Engr Busari, indicating their intention to submit an official request for rescheduling meetings with the committee due to the unavailability of key management personnel who were attending the Nigerian oil and gas conference in Abuja at the time.