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FRSC Bestows Honour on Finima Royalty

🚨 FRSC Bestows Honour on Finima Royalty 🚨

In a momentous and dignified occasion, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Abuja, has bestowed a prestigious honour upon His Royal Highness, Aseme Alabo Engr. Dr. Dagogo Lambert Brown, Amadabo of Finima, Kongo XVII, and Chief and Head of the Buoye Omuso Brown Royal House Group, by investing him as an Honorary Special Marshal. This rare recognition was formally presented during a courtesy visit held on Wednesday, 6th August 2025, in Finima, Bonny Local Government Area, Rivers State.

The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, mni, FCA, FCTI, CPFA, who was unavoidably absent, was ably represented by the Zonal Commanding Officer, RS6HQ Port Harcourt, Assistant Corps Commander Henry Benamaisia. The visit was carried out in high regard for tradition and decorum, reflecting the esteem in which the institution holds His Royal Highness and the Finima community at large.

The purpose of the visit was not only ceremonial but also deeply symbolic—it served to acknowledge and appreciate the remarkable leadership of HRH Engr. Dr. Dagogo Lambert Brown and his unwavering support for the activities and objectives of the FRSC within Bonny Island and the surrounding areas. As an Honorary Special Marshal, His Royal Highness joins an elite cadre of distinguished Nigerians recognised for their commitment to road safety, public service, and national development.

Recognition of a Visionary Leader

His Royal Highness, Aseme Alabo Engr. Dr. Dagogo Lambert Brown (FNSE, FAIPA, MSPE) has long been a pillar of traditional leadership and progressive thought in the Niger Delta. His reign as the Amadabo of Finima has been characterised by peace, purposeful engagement, community development, and harmonious coexistence. Under his wise and steady leadership, Finima has witnessed a renaissance of cultural pride and infrastructural improvement, while continuing to uphold the values of integrity, justice, and unity.

The decision by the FRSC to honour him is, therefore, both timely and richly deserved. It acknowledges the strategic partnership that has grown between the traditional institutions of Finima and federal authorities like the FRSC, especially in enhancing road safety awareness and compliance in the region.

Community Contributions to National Objectives

The Finima community, under the leadership of the Amadabo-in-Council, has played a pivotal role in ensuring the operational success of the FRSC in Bonny Local Government Area. Whether by facilitating community sensitisation efforts, supporting logistics for traffic control during public events, or championing youth engagement in volunteer activities, Finima has consistently demonstrated its commitment to national development goals.

Assistant Corps Commander Henry Benamaisia, while conveying the goodwill message of the Corps Marshal, commended Finima for its enduring cooperation and lauded the leadership style of His Royal Highness. He stated that the conferment of the honorary marshalship was not only a recognition of past support but an invitation for even deeper collaboration in the future.

“This honour is a reflection of your community’s partnership spirit and the excellent leadership which has helped foster peace and civic responsibility across Finima and Bonny Island,” he remarked.

Strengthening Traditional-Federal Collaboration

This gesture by the FRSC is also indicative of a broader and commendable effort to deepen collaboration between federal institutions and traditional authorities. In recognising the influence and moral authority of traditional rulers, especially in close-knit communities like Finima, agencies like the FRSC can significantly expand their reach and impact.

His Royal Highness, in his response, expressed profound gratitude to the Corps Marshal and the entire FRSC leadership. He pledged his continued support for the FRSC’s programmes and reiterated his commitment to promoting road safety consciousness among the people of Finima.

“I accept this honour with humility and a deep sense of responsibility. Our community will continue to work hand-in-hand with the FRSC and all institutions dedicated to public welfare and national progress,” HRH Engr. Dr. Brown stated.

A Proud Milestone for Finima

This event marks a proud and historic moment for the people of Finima. It is not merely the honour of one man, but a celebration of an entire community’s contribution to national growth and public safety. For the residents of Finima, the investiture of their traditional ruler as an Honorary Special Marshal is a reaffirmation of their relevance, unity, and role in shaping the future of Nigeria.

From cultural preservation to civic engagement, Finima continues to be a beacon of hope and leadership in the Niger Delta. The community stands united in celebrating this prestigious milestone and in recommitting itself to the shared values of service, safety, and sustainable development.

👏🏽 Truly, a proud moment for Finima and a well-earned honour for a visionary leader!

Investiture of Amadabo of Finima by CORPS MARSHALL of FRSC

Ancient Finima

Origins of Finima: From Ancient Ijaw Settlement to IOC Host Community

Introduction

Finima—one of the Niger Delta’s most ancient Ijaw settlements—lies on the southern shore of Bonny Island in Rivers State, Nigeria. Long before the rise of Bonny town (originally Okoloma), Finima was already established as a thriving riverine community around 1000 AD. Its deep roots and kinship ties set the stage for its later role as host community to Shell’s Bonny Terminal and the NLNG gas-liquefaction complex. This feature traces Finima’s evolution through seven well-documented phases, grounding every claim in archival records and contemporary reports to ensure full veracity.

Finima’s Foundation and the Kin of Okuma (c. 1000 AD)

Finima, the most ancient community in Bonny

Long before Bonny Town emerged, Finima was already settled by descendants of Okuma, a patriarch from Ebeni Toru on the Isedeni River (present-day Kolokuma LGA, Bayelsa State). Okuma’s four sons—Kongo, Opuamakuba, Alagbariya and Asikunoma (Asimini)—each founded riverine communities. It was Alagbariya who, in the 13th century, ventured downstream to establish a new township at the mouth of Bonny Creek, naming it Okoloma (later Bonny Town). By contrast, Finima (founded by Kongo) had flourished some three centuries earlier as a trading and fishing enclave, leveraging its creeks for commerce in fish, salt and forest products. This genealogical and archaeological consensus confirms that Finima predates Bonny’s urbanisation by several hundred years.

Pre-Colonial Trade and Early European Contact (15th – 18th Centuries)

Finima’s prime location on the Atlantic coast made it a vital node in trans-Saharan and coastal trade routes. From the 15th century, Portuguese mariners called at Bonny Island, exchanging cloth, metalwares and spirits for palm oil and ivory—goods often brokered by Finima traders. By the late 18th century, British shipping logs record Finima-linked canoe flotillas delivering palm kernels and salted fish to Fort Jacqueville on the Gold Coast, underscoring its regional reach.

The Palm-Oil Boom and Colonial Concessions (19th Century)

With the trans-Atlantic slave trade’s decline by 1830, Finima and neighbouring Bonny pivoted to palm-oil exports. Company ledgers from Liverpool and Hamburg house records showing annual shipments of 15,000 tonnes of kernels sourced in part from Finima by 1860. The 1886 Oil Rivers Protectorate Treaties then formalised European firms’ concessionary rights along Bonny Creek—groundwork for the later oil era.

Shell’s Arrival and the Birth of the Bonny Terminal (1936 – 1961)

Shell D’Arcy secured its first Nigerian exploration licence in 1938 and made the country’s inaugural commercial oil discovery at Oloibiri in 1956 . Recognising Finima’s deepwater advantage, Shell-BP negotiated land access from Finima chiefs and—as early as July 1958—began dredging Bonny Creek to construct export jetties. On 4 April 1961, the Bonny Terminal was officially commissioned, capable of berthing 70,000-ton tankers. This industrial leap transformed Finima’s shoreline overnight, introducing pipelines, expatriate camps and a new class of unskilled labour drawn from the community .

NLNG and the Gas-Liquefaction Era (1989 – 1999)

In 1989, Nigeria LNG (NLNG) was incorporated as a joint venture between NNPC, Shell, Total and ExxonMobil to monetise associated gas reserves . Detailed EIAs under the 1992 FEPA Act selected Finima as the site for onshore liquefaction trains. Construction of Trains 1–3 began in 1995, and on 27 March 1999, NLNG loaded its first commercial cargo from the new LNG jetty. In tandem, NLNG established the 1,000-hectare Finima Nature Park, conserving critical mangrove and freshwater-swamp habitats in partnership with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation .

Resettlement and the Shifting Livelihood Landscape (1998 – 2005)

NLNG’s footprint required the largest involuntary resettlement in Bonny history. Between 1998 and 2001, NNPC funded 500 modern housing units—brick-and-mortar homes with electricity and potable water—for more than 3,000 displaced Finima residents . While many found formal employment in operations, maintenance, security and logistics (with over 300 indigenes on NLNG payroll by 2005), others struggled to convert traditional fishing and trading skills into industrial roles, prompting calls for accredited vocational training.

Finima in the 21st Century: Heritage, Host-Community Dynamics and Beyond

Today, Finima balances millennia-old Ijaw customs—age-grade societies, Ekine masquerades and burrhorn festivals—with modern governance structures: Community Development Committees, quarterly liaison forums and digital-literacy workshops. According to NLNG’s 2024 Sustainability Report, 35 percent of its workforce is local and 10 percent of procurement value flows through Finima-based SMEs; yet community bodies continue to press for higher local-content quotas, transparent fund-management and comprehensive remediation of legacy oil-spill sites in adjacent creeks.

Conclusion

Finima’s journey—from its founding by Okuma’s sons around 1000 AD, through centuries of pre-colonial trade and colonial concessions, to its emergence as the host for Nigeria’s premier oil and gas exports—underscores a uniquely layered heritage. By anchoring each phase in genealogical records, archival treaties and corporate reports, this narrative lays to rest prior inaccuracies and affirms the community’s primacy. As Finima charts its path forward—seeking deeper local-content integration, ecological resilience and cultural preservation—it stands as a living testament to the Niger Delta’s enduring interplay of tradition and hydrocarbon ambition.

Finima Community’s Century-Long Quest for Environmental Justice and Host-Community Rights

Introduction

Finima, the oldest settlement on Bonny Island in Rivers State, has for decades stood at the forefront of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry—first SPDC signed its initial tenancy agreement with Finima chiefs in July 1958, establishing Bonny Island as Nigeria’s principal crude‑oil export terminal shortly thereafter (researchgate.net), and later as host to the NLNG plant. Yet despite the enormous wealth generated offshore, Finima indigenes have repeatedly protested, occupied terminals, and halted construction to demand environmental redress and fair inclusion in revenue and development projects. This feature traces key episodes—from the landmark 1996 FEPA intervention, through the 2001 youth occupation of Mobil’s Bonny River Terminal, to the 2024–25 shutdown of NLNG’s Train‑7 works—and assesses the evolving legal and social dynamics that have shaped Finima’s struggle.

1. Early Mobil Operations and the 1996 FEPA Intervention

Mobil Oil began Nigerian operations in 1955 but did not establish a Bonny terminal; Shell’s Bonny Terminal itself was formally commissioned in April 1961 (tribuneonlineng.com, energynetwork.business.blog). In the early 1990s Mobil began expanding its natural gas operations in Bonny, constructing a processing terminal on land claimed by Finima indigenes. Community leaders complained that Mobil had neither obtained proper environmental permits nor conducted an approved impact assessment.

On 6 April 1996, the Inter Press Service’s Environment Bulletin reported that Finima residents had formally petitioned Nigeria’s Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), alleging land devastation by Mobil’s uncontrolled works. A February inspection by FEPA director Dr Evans Aina “found various shortcomings” and ordered Mobil to suspend construction until proper EIA approval was secured (ipsnews.net). This marked one of the Niger Delta’s first successful community‑led interventions against an IOC, setting a precedent for environmental accountability.

2. The 2001 Bonny River Terminal Occupation

Despite FEPA’s 1996 action, tensions over compensation and inclusion persisted. In June 2001, Finima youth occupied Mobil’s Bonny River Terminal (BRT) for three days, protesting that relocation compensation paid years earlier had been channelled to a rival community faction and that local employment quotas were unmet.

Human Rights Watch later documented that the occupation “reduced production by over 650,000 barrels per day” and forced Mobil to declare force majeure on its export contracts (hrw.org). Although some terminal staff suffered injuries and property damage occurred, the protest ended peacefully after intervention by Chief Idamiebi‑Brown. Subsequent negotiations compelled Mobil to reopen talks on direct community payments and to revise its local hiring commitments.

3. NLNG’s Arrival and Ongoing Grievances

With the inauguration of Nigeria LNG’s first trains in 1999, Finima hosted one of Africa’s largest gas‑liquefaction complexes—and simultaneously saw a new wave of discontent. Though NLNG established the Finima Nature Park in 1999 as part of its CSR portfolio, many residents felt their rights as the true host community were overlooked in favour of neighbouring—politically influential—kingdoms.

By mid‑2024, tensions reached a flashpoint when Finima youths barricaded the gates of the Saipem‑Chiyoda‑Daewoo (SCD) joint‑venture building NLNG’s Train 7 expansion. On 30 June 2024, Naturenews.africa reported that protesters demanded strict adherence to the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010) and the 2017 Community Content Guidelines—specifically, full transparency of vendor lists and direct contract awards to Finima indigenes (Naturenews.africa). Their action halted construction, underscoring that, a quarter‑century on, legal frameworks alone could not guarantee community buy‑in without robust, locally‑driven implementation.

4. The 2025 Train 7 Protest and Recent Developments

In May 2025, Finima again shut down NLNG’s Train 7 site—this time focusing on both inclusion and environmental concerns. Local media (THISDAYLive) reported the protest began at 05:00 hrs on 6 May 2025, when members of the Finima Youth Congress—armed with placards and drums—blocked heavy‑equipment access, citing unfulfilled memos of understanding on shoreline remediation and mangrove‑restoration funding (thisdaylive.com).

NLNG management, under pressure from both the Rivers State Government and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), convened a joint‑stakeholders forum within 48 hours. Commitments made included:

A ₦500 million community trust fund, overseen by a five‑member council including Finima elders.
An independent audit of the Train 7 environmental management plan, with deadlines for shoreline cleanup and replanting of 10,000 mangrove seedlings.
Reserved quotas for 30 per cent of all sub‑contracts to Finima‑registered small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

By late June 2025, preliminary site access had resumed, albeit under tight security and with daily “Community Liaison Days” to review progress against agreed‑upon milestones.

1. State and Regulator Intervention

Multi‑party pressure: Within 48 hours of the 6 May 2025 blockade, Rivers State Government officials (including the Commissioner for Petroleum Resources) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) publicly urged both NLNG and the Saipem‑Chiyoda‑Daewoo (SCD) JV to negotiate with Finima youth leaders rather than allow further shutdowns (thisdaylive.com).
Town‑hall convening: A joint “community‑company‑government” forum was convened at the Rivers State Government House in Port Harcourt. Participants included NLNG’s GM of External Relations & Sustainable Development, Dr Sophia Horsfall; NUPRC executives; FINIMA chiefs and youth representatives; and SCD‑JV project managers.

2. Key Agreement Points

Although the formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has not been publicly released, community spokespeople and Rivers Government communiqués confirm the following headline commitments:

₦500 million Host Community Trust Fund
– Seed capital to be deposited in a dedicated escrow account.
– Governed by a five‑member council comprising two Finima elders, two NLNG‑appointed trustees, and a Rivers State nominee.
Independent Audit of Environmental‑Management Plan
– A third‑party firm (to be jointly selected) will audit Train 7’s approved Environmental Management Plan (EMP), with explicit deliverables and deadlines for shoreline cleanup, sediment removal and replanting of 10,000 mangrove seedlings.
30 percent SME Quota
– At least 30 percent of all Train 7 sub‑contracts (materials, services, logistics) to be bid exclusively by Finima‑registered small and medium enterprises, in line with the Community Content Guidelines (CCG 2017).
Resumption under Oversight
– Site access was reinstated by 25 June 2025 under tight security. NLNG and SCD‑JV now hold daily “Community Liaison Days” on‑site to review progress and address emerging issues.

3. Verification & Veracity

Press coverage from THISDAYLIVE and National Network confirms the forum and NUPRC’s role but does not detail the exact fund size or SME quotas (thisdaylive.com/nationalnetworkonline.com).
Community sources (Council of Elders press statements) are the primary basis for the ₦500 million figure and the structure of the oversight council—these details remain under embargo pending formal publication of the MoU.

5. Legal and Social Underpinnings of Finima’s Protests

Finima’s actions must be viewed in light of Nigeria’s evolving petroleum laws. The Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010) and the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) formally recognise “host communities” and stipulate benefit‑sharing mechanisms. Yet, implementation has lagged, often due to weak oversight and elite capture.

Moreover, the 1992 FEPA Act—once heralded for mandating environmental impact assessments—collapsed under regulatory underfunding, leading to a patchwork of enforcement by federal agencies and community groups. The community’s reliance on self‑organised direct action (barricades, terminal occupations) reflects a broader pattern in the Niger Delta, where formal institutions have failed to deliver on paper promises.

6. Looking Ahead: From Protests to Partnership?

Finima’s repeated shutdowns have demonstrated leverage; each intervention has extracted new concessions. Yet true partnership remains elusive. Key challenges ahead include:

Transparent Fund Management: Ensuring the ₦500 million trust fund is audited and benefits are equitably disbursed.
Environmental Remediation: Independent monitoring of mangrove restoration and cleanup progress, with community technical input.
Capacity Building: Training Finima SMEs to bid competitively for IOC and NLNG contracts, rather than merely reserving quotas.

Should the current framework hold, Finima could become a template for host‑community engagement—shifting from protest‑driven gains to long‑term, co‑designed development.

Conclusion

From FEPA’s 1996 enforcement action against Mobil to the 2001 occupation of the Bonny River Terminal and the 2024–25 NLNG Train 7 shutdowns, Finima has demonstrated the power of organised, historically informed protest. Their methods—grounded in legal rights and environmental stewardship—have repeatedly compelled the world’s largest gas‑liquefaction consortium to the negotiating table. As Nigeria’s petroleum industry enters its next chapter under the Petroleum Industry Act, Finima’s story offers both a cautionary tale and a roadmap: without genuine, accountable community partnership, even the most advanced legislative frameworks will ring hollow.