(Kaieteur News) – Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed on Wednesday said he plans to assemble a legal team to advise families of those who lost their lives in the MV Barima tragedy, while warning them against signing any compensation documents without first seeking legal guidance.

Speaking to reporters during a protest outside the Office of the President on Vlissengen Road, organised by the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), Mohamed accused the government of neglecting poor citizens noting that the vessel should have been condemned years ago.

“I will have a legal team to represent them to ensure that they are handsomely compensated, not like the Mahdia dorm fire where they got that dishonorable Minister Keoma coerced the indigenous people to accept $2 and $3 million. No amount of money can bring back life, but at the end of the day, they must be handsomely compensated,” he said.