Sola Adebayo
12 August 2002
Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje women who seized the Warri operational headquarters of Shell and Chevron-Texaco last Thursday claimed, weekend that 15 of them were missing.
About 800 were injured in their encounter with security agents during the seizure, they told newsmen in Warri.
They, however, said no life was lost during the face-of.
According to them, the whereabouts of the 15 could not be ascertained.
The injured 800, they said were currently receiving treatment in hospitals and herbal homes.
They issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Shell and Chevron-Texaco managements to find the missing women or face further action.
The authorities of the 7th Battalion, Effurum, however, dismissed the claim of the women, describing it as baseless and cheap blackmail.
Spokespersons for the protesters were Mrs. Kate Agagbawa (Itsekiri), Mrs. Rose Orila (Ijaw) and Mrs. Omolere Mesarawon (Ilaje) all of whom covered their faces during the briefing for fear of possible security reprisal.
About 3,000 Ijaw, Itsekiri and Ilaje women had invaded the premises of the two major oil companies in the early hours of Thursday to protest alleged neglect of their areas by the oil prospecting establishments. They had a rough deal with security agents who made desperate efforts to dislodge them.
The women listed the missing persons as six Ijaw, five Itsekiri and four Ilaje. They claimed that the missing persons were either "arrested by the security agents or secretly killed for pursuing legitimate demands for improved living conditions for the people of the oil bearing communities."
Orila in the encounter with newsmen said three 300 Ijaws, 350 of Itsekiris and about 250 Ilaje women were being treated at various hospitals and herbal homes in Warri and its environs.
The women accused the two oil companies of masterminding the attack on them by security agents. They asked Shell and Chevron-Texaco to prevail on the security agents to produce "the missing persons, pick the bills of the injured persons and pay adequate compensation for their alleged inhuman treatment by the security agents. They warned that failure by the oil companies to "meet these simple demands" would resort in further confrontation.
However, the Commanding Officer of 9th Battalion, Effurum, Col. Gar Dogo, dismissed the claim of the women, describing it as a cheap blackmail. Dogo maintained that "no women was missing and it is a lie that 800 of them were wounded, by who? these people should look for a legitimate way to make money."
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