The staff and members of the Bodo Mediation Initiative (BMI) are saddened at the demise of a brave and heroic human rights activist, Comrade Patrick Naagbanton, whose efforts led to the landmark agreement between the Bodo community and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in January 2015. He died on Saturday, 21 September 2019.

‘PatNabs’ as popularly known, has traversed the length and breadth of various Niger Delta communities and beyond at the peak of insecurity in the region, amplifying the voices of victims of environmental and human rights injustices.

“Patrick Naagbaton – A comrade, Poet, and Humanist:

When I arrived in Nigeria from the UK in 2009 to take on my role as the Country Director of Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), I was introduced to Patrick. He was the first civil society person I met in Nigeria and his passion, enthusiasm and infectious and booming laughter made a strong impression on me.

In the following 9 years under my watch, SDN worked closely with Patrick on environmental, human rights, elections, transparency, and governance issues. Patrick would travel across the Niger Delta region and beyond to carry out research and provide data for some of our reports. We carried out campaigns and advocacy on critical issues affecting the region and Patrick was always reliable, trustworthy and upright.

Patrick Naagbaton was a fearless and inspirational human rights activist and would be missed by all those who met and worked with him. We’ll miss him. May his soul rest in peace.” – Mr. Inemo Samaima, BMI Chairman.

The Murder of an unsung Hero: Baribefe Bornu

His death is a great loss to the development community across the region and to individuals and communities, he contributed to there development. Comrade Patrick left behind golden legacies which among others include the Centre for Environment and Human Rights Development (CEHRD) which he founded, justifying the quote “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” – Chuck Palahniuk

The BMI commiserates with his families, friends and all CEHRD management and staff.

About BMI

In 2013 the former Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Bert Ronhaar, took a personal interest in the Bodo case and he sought to assist in bringing about the clean-up, remediation, and restoration of oil impacted sites in Bodo. His consultation with the Nigerian government, SPDC, and the Bodo community led to the establishment of the Bodo Mediation Initiative (BMI) which was set up to oversee and mediate throughout the clean-up project.

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For more information on the phase 2 Bodo Clean-up/Mediation Initiative. Please contact:

Email: bmicommunications2@gmail.com  | Twitter: @BMI_BodoCleanup |  Facebook: BMI Bodo Cleanup