Some Niger Delta communities have threatened to disrupt oil exploration due to the activities of Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
They issued the warning in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital city where they held a protest to draw attention to their plight.
TVC News Uche Okoro reports that the protesters accused the company of defaulting in carrying out environmental
best practices, implementation of the Nigerian Local Content Act and the payment of contractors for jobs completed long ago.
But what was meant to be a peaceful protest in the early hours of the morning was botched following the arrival of heavily armed soldiers and policemen who prevented the crowd from marching towards the company’s premises along Agip road in Port Harcourt.
The group expressed worry that should efforts to reach an amicable resolution fail, many of their members may resort to violent agitation.
Several efforts made to reach the management of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company to react to allegations raised by the protesters were stiffly resisted by security personnel.
