NIGERIA: The Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), an internationally recognized advocacy group based in Ogoni, within Nigeria's Niger Delta region, is advocating for accountability regarding the $300 million compensation paid by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for the development of Ogoniland. This call for transparency was made by OLI's President, Dr. Douglas Fabeke, during a celebratory birthday event in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State. The gathering attracted numerous Nigerian celebrities, as well as both local and international associates, stakeholders, and many well-wishers.

Dr Fabeke during his speech, said information available to the group showed that the money was paid to the immediate past government of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike through an Out-of-Court settlement. 
He stated that several letters written by the group to the former Group Managing Director (GMD) and management of NNPCL, demanding explanation on the $300 million payment, were ignored. 
Fabeke stated, “But since then, we have written several letters to the former GMD, letters that were ignored. We demanded accountability. 
“We demanded action. Instead of answers, we met a wall of silence. We then demanded his removal from office and he was eventually replaced. 
“There is information with valid evidence confirming that $300 million had been paid to the Rivers State Government via an Out-of-Court settlement under the former administration, but the management of NNPCL has failed to brief us nor respond to our several letters.”
He, however, said the management of NNPCL recently acknowledged a demand notice from OLI’s legal team, and vowed to approach the court to recover the resources meant for the development of Ogoni people. 
The group wondered why NNPCL decided to pay the money into Rivers State account instead of Ogoni people, who were directly affected by oil-polluted environment. 

He stated, “On the 14th July, 2025, the NNPCL acknowledged our demand notice through our legal representative. The organisation shall embark on a legal battle, one that will shake the history of Nigeria, to recover all the resources of the Ogoni people.
“We ask, where is the 300 million dollars’ compensation? Who authorised the payment to the state government, instead of the Ogoni people, the rightful victims and stakeholders in this matter?
“Who represented the Ogoni people during the out-of-court settlement? What was that money used for? We are demanding full disclosure. We are demanding that justice be done and seen to be done. 
“We will pursue this matter legally, politically, and publicly until the truth is exposed and our people are compensated accordingly.”

Dr Fabake further kicked against resumption of oil exports by NPDCL, stating that the Ogoni communities are still suffering from the trauma of displacement and bloodshed under the Sani Abacha regime; hence, there is no moral justification to resume oil operations in Ogoniland.
He warned that if NPDCL continue to operate in these traumatised Ogoni communities, his group will take legal action. He said ‘we will resist you with every lawful means available. We will not sit back while the same cycle of exploitation and deceit repeats itself. This is not the 1990s. We are not unorganised. We are not uninformed. And we are not afraid. We shall resist them legally.”
He urged the Federal Government to adhere to the African Charter and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report, which stipulates that no oil exploration should resume until proper environmental and social restoration is carried out in Ogoniland.

The highlight of the event was the honoring of a Consultant, credited with playing a pivotal role in securing the out-of-court settlement between the Nigerian Government and the Ogoni Communities.