Lawyers from Nembe in Bayelsa State under the auspices of Nembe SE Lawyers Forum said on Tuesday that they are working to end violent agitation as a means of venting grievances in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Addressing a virtual news conference, a traditional ruler in the Nembe-speaking Brass area of the state, Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, said that the lawyers were committed to the enthronement of an era of lawful means of conflict resolution.

Dokubo-Spiff, who is also a leader of the forum, noted that given the rich natural endowments of oil and gas, maritime potentials in the area, the people would reap immense benefits if the resources were harnessed in an atmosphere of peace.

According to him, there are so much opportunities in the economic activities in the area but regretted the dearth of capacity on the part of legal practitioners to leverage on them.

He said that the Nembe SE Forum had concluded plans to build the capacity of lawyers to drive the development of the Niger Delta region and reposition the area to attract more investment.

Dokubo-Spiff said that the forum has scheduled a professional development and networking session for May 3 with the theme, “Law Practice in Contemporary Times to Enhance the Skills and Preparedness of Lawyers in the Emerging Environment”.

“The era of violence agitation is over. The narrative used to be armed struggle to attract attention, before dialogue and that approach is counter-productive and we are working to change the narrative.

“As lawyers, we are trained to resolve conflicts and we are using our training to ensure that our people have maximum benefit from natural endowments in the Nembe kingdom.

“The multi-purpose event will involve all segments of the Nembe people, operators of oil and gas fields in the area, policy makers, investors and potential investors as well as the leadership of the judicial arm of government at the three tiers,” Dokubo-Spiff said.

The Planning Team Lead for the event, Mr. Iniruo Wills, also noted that the Nembe SE Lawyers Forum was working to harness the expertise of professional groups from the area to drive the process of development.

He assured that the forum was working with all segments of the society in Nembe and stakeholders to integrate the people into the value chain of every economic activity in the area.