GMO’s enter Nigeria against court order – NGO

The Food Sovereignty Program for Friends of the Earth Africa has alleged Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) based cotton have been imported into the Nigerian market in spite of an existing court order against it.

In a statement by the coordinator, Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, “The commercialisation of Bt Cotton in the country was not a victory but a breach of law and order.”

“It is also a pointed disregard of the best interest of the Nigerian people and their right to be consulted and respected. This adds a new dimension to the suspicion that disregard for judicial processes is taking a worrisome turn in current situation of things in Nigeria and if we have surrendered our sovereignty to corporate interests” the statement said.

It said both agencies, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) and National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), who approved the commercialization are defendants in the pending suit filed by the Registered Trustees of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and sixteen other Civil Society Organisations in the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Abuja.

It said while the court was yet to deliver judgement on the case, the defendants, NBMA, NABDA and Monsanto in defiance to the ongoing court process have gone ahead on Thursday, July 26, 2018 to register and release some Genetically Modified (GM) products and the Bt cotton - one of the subjects of litigation, into the Nigerian environment.