Golden Gentle Tobin Wariopusenibo (senior elder) of the Tobin Konibo-ye-Awanta Chieftaincy House of Finima in Bonny Kingdom, has been a teacher, entrepreneur, community leader and philanthropist amongst many other things. He is currently the Head of the Sunday Burusu, as well as, Secretary of the Tobin House.

In this interview with Kristina Reports Correspondent, Clariza Allison, he sheds light on the Memoranda of understanding between the Attoni, Brown and Tobin Houses of Finima which were quashed recently by a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and the 50 year lease agreement with Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, among other trending issues. Take a read!

Kristina Reports: we hear that a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt recently nullified an MOU between Finima Community and Mobil, is this correct?

Wariopusenibo Golden Gentle Tobin: Yes, your information is correct but I want to correct something there. The MOU is not actually between Mobil and Finima, it is an MOU among the three families in Finima. That is what I want to correct first.

But then, that MOU covers payments or compensation that Mobil made to Finima and because there was the issue of the sharing formula for the three houses, it lingered and then at a time, the legal team of the various houses had to come together and then chart a way forward on how to go about it and that was how the MOU came about.

Having the understanding of how that money would be shared among the various households and of course, setting aside a certain amount of money for the development of the community. So yes, it is true that the MOU lasted for over 14 years. Most of the people who started that MOU are all gone, but as God would have it at this our own time, the MOU has been quashed. In fact, we have been relieved of a very strong hold of that MOU in the Tobin House.

Now this is a case delivered on the 19th of December and in all the reliefs we sought, we were granted reliefs, one, six and eight and what are the reliefs? One,

“A declaration that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated the 20th of July 2002, purportedly executed by the Brown, Tobin and Attoni Houses of Finima, Bonny LGA and within the jurisdiction of the honourable court is invalid, unlawful, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”

That is one of our reliefs and Thar relief as granted. That is to say that MOU as of today, in fact since the 19th of December,2023 has been quashed and is of no effect, null and void as the court has so declared.

Second is relief six: A declaration that is in the face of all discrepancies or deficiencies, conflict discrepancies contained in the MOU, none of them is binding on the claimants. Finally, the relief eight that was granted.

An order of the honourable court discharging the claimants from any right, obligation, created under and by virtue of the said MOU dated 20th July 2002 for being null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

In a nutshell, these are the reliefs the court granted us and as you can see that this means that the MOU is dead. Now, the one thing that was happening in the past is that our brothers had fraudulently taken this MOU to companies and are making claims of billions of Naira and today, you come to the community and you begin to ask, where are these monies in the community. Does the community look like one where such an amount of money has come in?

Nothing to show for it but are in the pocket of a few persons in the brown house. It is unfortunate that even some persons in the Brown House don’t know what is happening. As for the Tobins, forget it, they are enemy number one to the Browns. Of course, they would not give us anything but I know at the appointed time, what is due will definitely get to us. It does not matter how long it takes. Justice does not matter how long you try to cover it, at the end of the day, it will prevail. So the MOU matters today, yes, it is correct that the MOU which has been on for over 14 years, today is no longer in existence. It has been quashed and all the games they have been playing with that MOU, going to the companies to make fraudulent claims and all that has come to an end. They can no longer do that anymore.

There is also a story going around that the Finima community entered into a lease agreement with Mobil. Is it a fall out of that MOU when it was in existence or is this a new lease that the community entered with the company?

Like I said when I was highlighting the MOU judgement, I told you that they fraudulently have been using that MOU to collect money from companies. Now this MOU like you rightly asked, yes, it’s a fall out of that MOU because they hid under that MOU, went to Mobil, negotiated the lease of that place for fifty years and you can imagine the kind of bondage they have put the community.

I have never heard anywhere that a lease is being signed for 50 years. What that implies is that my children, and my grandchildren too will have nothing to rely on until after 50 years and for how much? Peanuts?

50 years is quite a long time. But how much is involved in this lease agreement?

Yes, certainly, I can mention them because I have the records here with me. It’s no longer a hidden thing. They can succeed in hiding it from their people, like Bob Marley would sing, “You can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”

The records are here with me and I will mention them. Now the sum of $13,330,000 was collected first and then later N3,368,000,900. Sum all these up and you would see that they collected more than N20billion or more than that.

Now look at it, you were supposed to have N20 which was originally supposed to come to you, but because of the fraudulent way they went about this thing, the money they were supposed to receive, they never received it. Instead they ended up shortchanging the community. Now the reason being that they anticipated this judgment on 19th December 2023. Quickly they connived with the officials and nicodemously went and collected this money without thinking if the future.

Did you say they connived with some officials?

Yes! Having mentioned the amount involved, I would at this point mention the persons from the company that are involved in this negotiation, the persons that are in the center of the negotiations. I want to mention here categorically that Engr. Gogo Lambert was the anchorman for this crime that was perpetuated against the Finima people and I would also want to mention the official at Mobil that aided and abetted this crime against humanity. The General Manager, Public and Government Affairs incidentally happens to be an Opobo man, his name is Nigel Cookey-Gam. He was in the picture and the second person is Omawunmi Gomwalk, public and Government affairs adviser, Bonny River Terminal. They aided and abetted this crime against the Finima community.

Having said this, I want to challenge the Brown family members that are at the forefront of this crime against humanity, that they should come out and tell the world how much they collected from Mobil that is if they disagree with me.

I say it is a crime against humanity because of the lives of future generations that have been mortgaged by this singular act. They never thought of their future, they never thought of their children, they never thought of their children’s children. What are they leaving for them? Nothing. And today they are very happy. That is why you see them doing all manner of things in society because they have the community money which they have gone to collect nicodemously from Mobil. I tell you, I know that with time, we are going to revisit this matter and get to the root of it and whoever is involved in this crime against humanity must have to answer to this crime.