Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Ex-militant leader and Chairman of Tantita Security Services, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, has accused the Nigerian Navy of frustrating efforts to combat crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.
Speaking during a meeting with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA in Oporoza, Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State, Ekpemupolo claimed that the Navy was colluding with illegal oil barons and sabotaging the nation’s economy by providing security cover for stolen oil shipments.
Tompolo, whose company, Tantita, is hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to monitor oil theft, detailed several incidents where Navy personnel allegedly interfered with operations to apprehend oil thieves.
He accused the Navy of openly confronting other security agencies and private security firms like Tantita, preventing them from executing their duties.
In one case, Ekpemupolo revealed that Navy personnel escorted a vessel carrying stolen crude oil in Port Harcourt, using superior firepower to force Tantita operatives and other security agencies to release the ship.
He cited similar incidents in Delta State, where Navy officials allegedly secured the safe passage of stolen oil shipments.
“While doing this work, we have stepped on a lot of toes over there in Lagos and Abuja. The Navy is working at cross-purposes with other government and private security agencies, frustrating the war against crude oil theft.”
The ex-militant leader also criticized the NBA, accusing some of its members of defending arrested oil thieves and helping them avoid justice, and called on the Association to play a more active role in the fight against oil theft, which he argued was draining Nigeria’s economy.
Earlier, NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, acknowledged the gravity of the situation and pledged the NBA’s support in addressing the issue.
Osigwe stressed that oil theft had not only harmed Nigeria’s economy but also impacted its ability to meet OPEC production quotas.
He also promised that the NBA would work with Tantita and other stakeholders to tackle the issue and ensure that communities in the Niger Delta benefit from oil exploration activities.
