Women of Akwa-Ibom community threaten to protest naked

Forum 7 years ago

Women of Akwa-Ibom community threaten to protest naked

BASSEY ANTHONY, in Uyo, re­ports that the Akwa Ibom State gov­ernment and other relevant agencies have neglected the victims of pipe­line explosion in Obotim Nsit com­munity, forcing women to threaten to protest naked.
The gas pipeline ex­plosion which oc­curred on the night of July 24, 2016, at Obotim Nsit, a quiet community in Nsit Ibom local govern­ment area of Akwa Ibom State, is still raising dust almost a month after.
The blast which literally blasted away the collective innocence, peace and joy of the rustic village happened just when the natives were about retiring to bed after a laborious day’s work in their farms and other en­deavours.
There were conflicting reports as to the cause or causes of the explosion. While some media reports blamed a Niger Delta mili­tant group for the incident, a few others said the blast was caused by a technical/electrical fault.
The Akwa Ibom State government and State Police Command had promptly issued a state­ment debunking the claim that the explosion was caused by militants, insist­ing that the State is free of the existence and opera­tions of militant organiza­tions.
But while arguments as to the cause of the tragic incident ensued, the explo­sion at the control valve of the pipeline located at Asang Community High School was a sad reality to natives of Obotim Nsit.
Said to be owned by the Seventh Energy Company Limited, the pipeline tra­verses through some com­munities in the State, in­cluding Obotim Nsit.
But rather than attract economic benefits to the people of Obotim Nsit, the pipeline has brought anguish, loss and regrets to the community even as the people allege that they have been neglected by the state government, Seventh Energy and the Nigerian National Petroleum Cor­poration, (NNPC).