Post by mdshamiul on Feb 15, 2024 7:15:44 GMT -5
That changed after a Wilmar International subsidiary, Biase Plantation Ltd. , leased it to the state government in May 2012. The goal of the deal, valued at about $1.5 million, was to revive palm oil production. on the farm .
Ojobe and his neighbors did not accept their fate quietly. Sporadic protests over the next seven years were violently repressed.
In late 2012, the nonprofit Rainforest Resource & Development Center (RRDC) approached the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil complaints panel on behalf of affected communities to challenge the acquisition of the land by Wilmar.
In addition to questioning the state's continued rights Singapore Email List to the land (for decades, the government had not paid rent as set out in the 1962 lease), RRDC also accused Wilmar of redrawing the property's boundaries, encroaching farmers' lands and community forests. The appeal was unsuccessful: the RSPO ruled that the plantation was transferred in accordance with local law .
They have reviewed nearly a dozen protest letters, oral presentations, petitions, court case records and letters from individuals and civil society groups sent to state institutions between 2012 and 2020, accusing Wilmar of encroaching on land and farms, damaging the environment. environment beyond the boundaries of the estate and question the legality of the acquisition of the estate.
Some of these challenges have been successful. In 2017, a farmer, Arikpo Ojah, sued Wilmar in the Akpet magistrate's court , alleging encroachment on his land and destruction of cassava, wild mangoes and stands of cocoa trees. Ojah had been among those who strongly opposed the sale of Ibiae to Wilmar.
In 2013, he was the first person to ask local environmental health officials to act against Wilmar 's pollution and the blockage of Uhom Creek , which runs through his farm. Upon inspection, local authorities determined that Wilmar had indeed blocked the creek, dumping debris and logs into it.
Nigerian farmers have long complained about pollution from the Ibiae plantation . They say wastewater laced with toxic chemicals generated by processing palm fruit flows into the waterways they depend on for drinking, bathing and irrigating their farms. Pollution is causing stands of oil palm and other plants to wither. When they visited the area in 2021, black foam accumulated on the surface of the water in many of the area's rivers and streams. Dead and dying trees stood above the water flecked with an oily slick.
Ojah's 2017 lawsuit appeared to have been resolved when it settled out of court with Wilmar in 2018. An arbitration panel led by Samuel Agabai inspected Ojah's farm and concluded that Wilmar's bulldozers had, in fact, invaded Ojah's farm. . The panel recommended that compensation of 400,000 naira ($520) be paid to Ojah for the destruction of his crops.
But Ojah said Wilmar did not fully comply with the panel's decisions and returned to court. In 2019, the Cross River State High Court ruled in their favor, finding that the company had unfairly contaminated their land and ordering Wilmar to pay 4 million naira ($5,200) in damages.
Wilmar has firmly rejected all allegations of wrongdoing. “We are aware of the numerous unfounded accusations related to land grabbing, pollution and poor working conditions. We have investigated each of these allegations and are also fully cooperating with investigations by authorities and government agencies,” Ravin Trapshah, senior communications manager, emailed in response to questions asked earlier this year.
Despite the 2019 ruling in favor of Ojah, Trapshah wrote: “To date, none of the accusations leveled against us have been found true or valid. “We have also responded to them repeatedly, accompanied by relevant facts and evidence, together with our stakeholders, including our host communities, labor unions and relevant government agencies.
Ojobe and his neighbors did not accept their fate quietly. Sporadic protests over the next seven years were violently repressed.
In late 2012, the nonprofit Rainforest Resource & Development Center (RRDC) approached the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil complaints panel on behalf of affected communities to challenge the acquisition of the land by Wilmar.
In addition to questioning the state's continued rights Singapore Email List to the land (for decades, the government had not paid rent as set out in the 1962 lease), RRDC also accused Wilmar of redrawing the property's boundaries, encroaching farmers' lands and community forests. The appeal was unsuccessful: the RSPO ruled that the plantation was transferred in accordance with local law .
They have reviewed nearly a dozen protest letters, oral presentations, petitions, court case records and letters from individuals and civil society groups sent to state institutions between 2012 and 2020, accusing Wilmar of encroaching on land and farms, damaging the environment. environment beyond the boundaries of the estate and question the legality of the acquisition of the estate.
Some of these challenges have been successful. In 2017, a farmer, Arikpo Ojah, sued Wilmar in the Akpet magistrate's court , alleging encroachment on his land and destruction of cassava, wild mangoes and stands of cocoa trees. Ojah had been among those who strongly opposed the sale of Ibiae to Wilmar.
In 2013, he was the first person to ask local environmental health officials to act against Wilmar 's pollution and the blockage of Uhom Creek , which runs through his farm. Upon inspection, local authorities determined that Wilmar had indeed blocked the creek, dumping debris and logs into it.
Nigerian farmers have long complained about pollution from the Ibiae plantation . They say wastewater laced with toxic chemicals generated by processing palm fruit flows into the waterways they depend on for drinking, bathing and irrigating their farms. Pollution is causing stands of oil palm and other plants to wither. When they visited the area in 2021, black foam accumulated on the surface of the water in many of the area's rivers and streams. Dead and dying trees stood above the water flecked with an oily slick.
Ojah's 2017 lawsuit appeared to have been resolved when it settled out of court with Wilmar in 2018. An arbitration panel led by Samuel Agabai inspected Ojah's farm and concluded that Wilmar's bulldozers had, in fact, invaded Ojah's farm. . The panel recommended that compensation of 400,000 naira ($520) be paid to Ojah for the destruction of his crops.
But Ojah said Wilmar did not fully comply with the panel's decisions and returned to court. In 2019, the Cross River State High Court ruled in their favor, finding that the company had unfairly contaminated their land and ordering Wilmar to pay 4 million naira ($5,200) in damages.
Wilmar has firmly rejected all allegations of wrongdoing. “We are aware of the numerous unfounded accusations related to land grabbing, pollution and poor working conditions. We have investigated each of these allegations and are also fully cooperating with investigations by authorities and government agencies,” Ravin Trapshah, senior communications manager, emailed in response to questions asked earlier this year.
Despite the 2019 ruling in favor of Ojah, Trapshah wrote: “To date, none of the accusations leveled against us have been found true or valid. “We have also responded to them repeatedly, accompanied by relevant facts and evidence, together with our stakeholders, including our host communities, labor unions and relevant government agencies.