The Chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo) has frowned at the recent faceoff between officers of the Nigerian Navy and his men in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, during the interception of an alleged rogue vessel.
Tompolo spoke at the fact-finding visit of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by their President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, at Oporoza, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State, on issues surrounding oil theft and problems faced by oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, on Monday.
The Tantita boss accused Navy personnel of shooting at his men, Department of State Service (DSS) officials and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
He disclosed that the task of protecting oil pipelines has caused him to step on the toes of oil theft barons; he appealed to Nigerians, including government security agencies, to support President Bola Tinubu’s effort towards improving Nigeria’s economy by ending the crime.
Tompolo warned that Nigeria might become an economic wreck if the sponsors of oil theft continue to have their way, and he solicited the support of the NBA in defending arrested suspects.
“We want to implore and beg that you must not 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. We are going to do our part locally. But you are there at the top. If we arrest today, lawyers would stand on the other side and this side.
“But once we do reasonable arrest, what I want to appeal is that you need to help us. If somebody is coming to load a vessel of 500 metric tonnes, in this community, nobody has that. The person would have to come from either Lagos or neighbouring countries or Abuja. The man here would be a water boy for the people at the head. That is the one we would arrest. So, we have stepped on a lot of toes.
Photo: Tompolo (in white attire) surrounded by Anyiam-Osigwe and other NBA official
In his speech, the NBA president stressed the need for all Nigerians to work towards the betterment of the Nigerian economy, calling on legal practitioners in the area, to see how they can work in this regard.
“As Nigerians, our fates are tied together. We have a common interest in seeing that the Nigerian economy works, a common interest in seeing that the commonwealth of Nigeria is protected for the well-being of every person, and all hands must be on deck to ensure that the economic loss we suffer as a result of oil theft, is combatted.
He said that the NBA at their recent National Executive Council meeting, took interest in the issue of oil theft because of its negative impact on Nigeria’s economy, the government’s inability to deliver the dividends of democracy, the impact on foreign reserves and Nigeria’s ability to meet its minimum Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota.
“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 and has done a lot of good work on the issue of pipeline protection and 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, the challenges approached, and how the fight has helped improve the Nigerian economic standing,” Osigwe stated.
“our understanding of the economy is that if the country earns more from oil which we produce, we would be able to borrow less, and the government will be able to do some of the developmental activities and put infrastructures in place as expected”. He added.
