The founder of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, says he is constantly facing threat to his life by the powerful people behind oil theft in the country.
According to him, the oil thieves are powerful people outside of the Niger Delta.
Tompolo, speaking at Oporoza, the headquarters of the Gbaramatu Kingdom, on Monday, alleged that some naval personnel, a few days ago, forcefully attacked operatives of the private outfit during the arrest of some suspected oil thieves along the Port-Harcourt creeks.
Speaking during a working visit of the Nigerian Bar Association national executive, led by its President, Afam Osigwe (SAN), to the oil-bearing community, Tompolo called for synergy between the Navy and other security outfits.
Tompolo noted that in the course of the surveillance operations to round up crude oil barons, Tantita had stepped on toes and had become the target of revenge missions.
He said, “While doing this work, we have stepped on a lot of toes of people over there in Lagos and Abuja. We have stepped on a lot of toes. As I am here, after my court cases, I cannot travel anywhere because of me and the key people (barons) fighting this battle.
“If I want to travel to Abuja to visit you, I must go with security. Even with two or three security personnel, none of them are happy with me, and they are now collaborating with top players involved in oil theft.
“Most times, you see that Tantita Security now has confrontations with the Navy and every well-meaning Nigerian knows the function of the Nigerian Navy and Tantita, but nobody wants to come out to face the truth.
“If we happen to arrest anybody now, we would get a lawyer from Abuja, Lagos or Ibadan to do the case very well.”
Tompolo expressed worry that efforts to checkmate crude oil theft were being sabotaged in some quarters.
“Some few days back, our people intercepted a vessel in Port Harcourt, where the Nigerian Navy was shooting at Tantita Security, with police, Department of State Services and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“We want to implore and beg you (NBA). You must play in this present situation, because if we are not careful in this country, maybe we will not have money to do any reasonable thing.
“All of us here know that Nigeria is facing hardship. A bag of rice is over N100,000.
“We are going to do our part locally. But you (NBA) are there at the top. If we make arrest today, lawyers would stand on the other side and this side.
“Can somebody come to load a vessel of 500 metric tonnes in this community? Nobody has that capacity; the person comes from Lagos, Abuja, or neighbouring countries.
“The man here would be a water boy for the people in charge. That is the one we would arrest,” he said.
Efforts by our correspondent to reach the Nigerian Navy spokesman, Commodore Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu, for comments on the issue, were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
A female official in the Naval Public Relations Office who picked up telephone calls from our reporter simply said she “had been transferred to Lagos,” just as she maintained that “Commodore Adams-Aliu is in the best position to react to the issue.”
Speaking earlier during a courtesy call on the Pere of Gbaramatu kingdom, Oboro-Gbaraun II, in his palace, the NBA President expressed delight over the recent announcement from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that oil production had risen to 1.8 million barrels per day, with a promise to increase it up to 2 million bpd by the end of this year.
“If the oil production keeps going up, it will benefit all of us and the government will be able to provide for the needs of the people,” he stated.
Consequently, the NBA president maintained that “there is a need to stem the theft of our commonwealth.
“The fight against oil theft is more desirable now, more than ever before, because Nigeria is borrowing so much to fund its budget and cannot meet the needs of Nigerians.”
While lamenting over continuous borrowing by the Federal Government to fund the budget, the NBA President maintained that “if the leakages in oil production are well blocked, it will go a long way in boosting the country’s earnings.”
The NBA team also noted with concern that oil exploration activities in the Niger Delta had adversely impacted the region “as manifested in the environmental pollution and degradation of most of the host communities.”
On this, the NBA President said, “We resolved to make an on-the-scene assessment of the oil-bearing communities to see the hardship they are suffering.
“The NBA is interested in the issues of oil theft coupled with the effects of environmental pollution and environmental degradation as a result of oil exploration on the host communities.
“The irony is that these communities that bear the responsibilities of the nation’s oil wealth do not enjoy the wealth as most of the cities in the country.”
He continued, “Our branches in the oil-bearing areas should be interested in the issues of oil theft which goes on in many communities because it has affected our national economy and also impacted negatively on the ability of the government to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
“It has also impacted negatively on our foreign reserves. It has adversely affected Nigeria’s ability to meet its minimum OPEC quarter for oil production. We felt that the matter should be taken seriously.
“We know that Gbaramatu Kingdom plays host to a company called Tantita Security Services which has been working with the NNPCL and the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“It has done a lot of good work on the issue of pipeline protection and the issue of oil theft. We thought that it would be a good place for us to come, first to get first-hand knowledge of how this battle has been fought, what the challenges approached, and how the fight has helped improve the Nigerian economic standing.”
The traditional ruler of Gbaramatu kingdom, in response, called for infrastructural development of the host communities, noting that “presently, the government is far from us.”
He added, “I want to let you know that the presence of the government is even far from us. All these you are seeing is from the efforts of our elite, our big boys.
“So we are also calling on the government, we produce the oil, from our territory we feed the coffers of this country. So they should draw closer to us and do the needful for us to also reciprocate.”
He specifically made a case for the establishment of a magistrate’s court in the Gbaramatu Kingdom just as he also appealed to the leadership of the NBA to mentor members of the Gbaramatu Lawyers Association to further brighten their career prospects in the legal profession.
“We need people like this to come to see things here. This is Gbaramatu. Before now, people were making all sorts of allegations against Gbaramatu Kingdom, but now you are here.
“We always tell people, if you are coming to Gbaramatu Kingdom, don’t be afraid.
“We are working for the peace of the Niger Delta, extending hands of fellowship to other kingdoms. Ijaw people stand for truth. We are a peaceful people.
“Today, I want to tell our lawmakers that the judge in the court should conclude in the court. But as the chairman here, I want to extend this to you, I know I’m not a lawyer or lawmaker, but before concluding your judgments, if it is needed, maybe, a land case, you should come to see for yourself before the final judgment.”