Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, David Irimagha has charged the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies in the area to step up the fight against sea piracy and other acts of criminality on the waterways around Bonny LGA.

Irimagha gave this charge at a One-Day Sensitization Lecture organized by the Nigerian Navy with theme “Illegal Oil Refining (“Kpo-Fire”): Issues, Challenges and Way-Forward” during the week in Bonny.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Williams Ogbah-Agwu, the Bonny LG Boss, who was represented by his Vice, Anengi Barasua, called for inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing among the security agencies in the area to enhance their capacity to nip emerging security challenges in the bud.

He commended the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy (NN) Forward Operating Base (FOB), Bonny, Navy Capt. Kola Oguntuga for conceptualizing such sensitization ideas, noting that this would serve to create the necessary awareness and cooperation from the people of the area.

Speaking, the Father of the day and Chairman of the Bonny Chiefs’ Council (BCC), Chief Dagogo Claude-Wilcox described the event as “a very important day for us in Bonny Kingdom as this marks the beginning of a new dawn for our community”.

The BCC Chairman pointed out that the sensitization programme was “of monumental importance as it would enlighten us on the hazards of illegal oil refining,” stating that “this devil in our community called kpo fire will be eradicated for the betterment of us all”.  

Earlier, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy (NN) Forward Operating Base (FOB), Bonny, Navy Capt. Kola Oguntuga had welcomed the participants to the event, stating that the sensitization programme was aimed at creating the right awareness about issues affecting the security situation in the area.

He expressed the hope that the objective of the programme, which was to enhance the synergy between the Nigerian Navy and the civilian populace in the area in its efforts at addressing security challenges and assuring security in the local government, would be achieved.

On her part, the Keynote Speaker and Professor of Animal and Environmental Biology (Benthic Ecology, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Professor Ibitoru Hart warned that the illegal or artisanal refining of crude oil across the Niger Delta region was destructive to the environment as it poses a threat to aquatic and wild life in the region.

She blamed the debilitating incidences of soot across Rivers State to the activities of these illegal refining activities, stressing that “soot that falls on water is oil that prevents oxygen from dissolving into the water thus endangering the fishes and other animals in the water, including plants and other sea organisms”.  

One of the panellist, Social Entrepreneur and Activist, Lolo Hailsham counselled youths to desist from acts that destroy the environment, urging them to engage in responsible means of earning income, asserting that individuals should prioritise their personal integrity in the pursuit of their endeavours, noting that “it is not every job that you have to be involved in”.

She called on government at all levels to focus on creating jobs for the people and conducive atmosphere for entrepreneurial pursuits in order to discourage youths from resorting to criminality and illegal oil refining, while tasking parents to pay closer attention to the upbringing of their children and inculcating of societal values in them.

Dignitaries at the event included the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS), Pathfinder, Commodore Sam Bura, and the Commander, Sector 3, Land Component, Operation Delta Safe, Col. Ralph Nnebeihe, among others.