Amid celebrations of Nigeria’s increased crude oil production reaching 1.8 million barrels per day, the Chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, has expressed concern over a recent confrontation between his security team and Nigerian Navy personnel in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the interception of a vessel.
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Tantita Security, a private firm contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), is tasked with safeguarding oil pipelines from theft.
Tompolo raised the issue during a visit by the national leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, to Oporoza, the headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State.
The NBA delegation was on a fact-finding mission to address oil theft and challenges faced by oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta.
Accusing the Nigerian Navy of complicity in oil theft, Tompolo alleged that Navy personnel fired shots at members of his security team, along with officials from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
He disclosed that his efforts to combat oil theft have antagonized powerful individuals involved in the illicit trade.
Tompolo appealed for the support of Nigerians and government security agencies in backing President Bola Tinubu’s drive to revitalize the economy by curbing oil theft.
Warning of dire economic consequences if oil theft sponsors are not stopped, Tompolo also called on the NBA to assist in providing legal representation for apprehended suspects, stressing the importance of collective action in addressing the issue.
“What we want is for you to support the President of this country and Tantita Security services because while doing this work, we are stepping on a lot of toes who are the big boys over there in Lagos and Abuja. Most times, you see that Tantita Security now have confrontations with the Nigerian Navy and all that.
“Every well-meaning Nigerian knows the function of the Nigerian Navy and Tantita now, but nobody wants to come out to say the truth. If we happen to arrest anybody now, we would have to get a lawyer from Abuja, Lagos or Ibadan to do the case very well.
“Now that you are here, NNPC GMD said production has increased to 1.8mbpd. Some few days back, our people intercepted a vessel in Port Harcourt, where the Nigerian Navy was shooting at Tantita Security, with Police, DSS and Civil Defense.
“We want to implore and beg, that 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 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.
“As I am here, I cannot travel anywhere because of the key people fighting this battle. If I want to travel to Abuja to visit the President or to visit you, I have to go with security men. Some security personnel are not happy with Tompolo and they are now even working with people that are top players of oil theft,” Tompolo stated.
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.
“We also call on our colleagues in this community and, indeed, other communities to join hands with the NBA to see in what way, we can contribute in this regard, in getting a better Nigeria”.
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, its 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.
Sharing the hopes of Nigeria hitting two million barrels per day oil production by December, he added: “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”.
Earlier while receiving the team at his palace, the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, His Majesty, Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketekpe, Agadagba, described the government’s presence in the oil-bearing communities as “far” from them, despite being host to Nigeria’s major source of revenue.
“I want to let you know that the presence of government is even far from us. All these you are seeing are from the efforts of our elites. So, we are also calling on the government, we produce the oil, and from our territory, we feed the coffers of this country. So they should draw closer to us, do the needful for us to also reciprocate.”
Speaking on the safety of the creeks, he said: “We are working for the peace of Niger Delta, extending hands of fellowship to other kingdoms. Ijaw people stand for truth. We are a peaceful people. We need people like this to come to see for yourselves, this is Gbaramatu. Before now, people were making all sorts of allegations against Gbaramatu Kingdom, but now you are here.
The monarch appealed for the establishment of a magistrate court in the area, just as he advised: “As the chairman ( referring to the NBA president) here, I want to extend this to you, before concluding your judgments, par adventure, a land case, you should come to see for yourself before the final judgment.
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