The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has accused some individuals from Ogoni and other parts of Rivers State of looting $300 million (approximately ₦480 billion) meant for infrastructural development and compensation for the Ogoni people.
Speaking in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, MOSOP President Fegalo Nsuke described the alleged misappropriation as a “genocide executed against the Ogoni people and the Niger Delta as a whole.”
The funds, which were part of an out-of-court settlement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), were intended to resolve the decades-long oil conflict in the region. Nsuke emphasized that the missing money could have significantly improved water access, electricity, road networks, and education in Ogoniland.
“We are certain that some individuals shared the money ($300 million) amongst themselves, and we cannot be crying of human rights violations in Ogoni while we do this to ourselves,” Nsuke said.
He criticized the Nigerian government’s silence, insisting that a thorough investigation is the only way the government can clear itself of complicity.
“The only way the Nigerian Government can absolve itself of blame in the loot is to initiate a probe and get the money returned to work for Ogoni,” he added.
Nsuke, who previously dismissed similar claims, said new evidence now warrants serious attention and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take action.
“Being silent would mean a lack of commitment to resolve the Ogoni problem,” Nsuke warned. “We actually had a solution, and personal greed thwarted it. This is a worse form of injustice than some of the allegations we have leveled against the Nigerian state.”
The MOSOP president stressed that the Ogoni people must not remain silent in the face of such betrayal.
“No one should make any mistakes about it. People cannot share some $300 million meant for social development and expect the people to be silent,” he stated. “Let them bring back the money. We need to address issues like electricity, entrepreneurship, water provision and improve education.”
Nsuke concluded by urging immediate action to recover the funds and deliver long-awaited relief and development to the Ogoni region.
