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Lagos (Agenzia Fides) - “As the Chief Shepherds of the people of God in Nigeria, we are particularly pained by the suffering, displacements and deaths of innocent citizens in the Niger Delta Region which have resulted from 'operation Cordon and search' since May 12, 2009,” says a declaration sent to Agenzia Fides from Archbishop Felix A. Job of Ibadan, President of the Nigerian Bishops' Conference.
The military attack being carried out by the joint Task Force, on the MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) guerrillas has caused many civilian victims and forced thousands of inhabitants to flee their homes (see Fides 29/5/2009).
Archbishop Job criticizes the “bombardment of the Communities of Oporoza, Kunukunuma, Kurutie and Okerenkoko,” saying that it “cannot be justified particularly in so far as military operation involved the destruction of residences and the displacement of innocent citizens, who as a result, have become vulnerable to diseases, hunger and starvation.”
The President of the Nigerian Bishops' Conference says that “over 20,000 people have been trapped in the fighting and over 65 people have lost their lives while hundreds of innocent citizens have sustained various levels of severe injuries in Warri South West alone.”
In light of this drama, the Catholic Bishops call for “a total and unconditional ceasefire on both sides. We call on the Federal Government to urgently halt all air bombardment of Niger delta Communities in order to arrest further destruction of lives and properties of innocent citizens.”
The Bishops also ask tjat all aid workers, including the Red Cross, the National Emergency Management Agency, Justice Development and Peace/Caritas Nigeria be urgently granted access to the Region in order to take care of the displaced persons and the injured.
“In addition, we call on the Federal Government to respond constructively to the recommendations of the Technical Committee on the Niger Delta, submitted to the President since last December 2008. The Technical Committee Report represents the most promising effort to develop a coherent strategy in the Niger Delta. The Federal Government should therefore, seize the opportunity for ending armed conflict and set the stage for sustained long-term development of the Region,” the Bishops say.
The Bishops also call for general amnesty, a program for demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR), with the regional leaders and the militants, along with budget transparency and financial accountability at state and local government levels in the Niger Delta, so that the allocated funds are used to benefit the region.
The Bishops ask the armed groups acting in the area to free all their hostages, end the violence, and collaborate in the DDR program. They ask the oil companies in the area to “take concrete steps to implement comprehensive cooperate social responsibility plans,” for the local communities who resent the pollution that has come from the oil-rigging. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 1/6/2009)
