By Abdul Baiye

Prominent Oil Security Maintenance expert and ex-militant leader in the Niger Delta, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, has accused the Nigerian Navy efforts was frustrating the war against crude oil theft in the region.

He also accused the Navy of aiding and abetting crude oil theft and other sharp practices associated with petrol products in the oil-rich belt.

While pointing accusing fingers at the Nigerian Navy of collaborating and encouraging illegal oil barons to sabotage the nation’s economy.

Receiving the national executive of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by its National President,.Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), at Oporoza, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, on Tuesday, Ekpemupolo, said the Navy was operating at cross-purpose with other state actors and private security outfit saddled with the surveillance over the nation’s economic assets in the Niger Delta.

He told his bewildered visitors that operatives of the Nigerian Navy were colluding with criminal elements to steal the nation’s oil wealth for pecuniary benefits.

Ekpemupolo, who is the Chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), one of the private security outfits hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to curb the menace of crude oil theft, reeled out instances in which the operatives of the Navy had stalled the arrest of oil thieves at various creeks of the Niger Delta.

He said the operatives freely provide and offer security cover and protection for the oil thieves in the course of their nefarious activities.

He lamented that the operatives of the Nigerian Navy openly confronted their counterparts from other security agencies and men of the private security companies in desperation to secure passage for the oil thieves.

This development, he further lamented constituted a cog in the wheel of progress in the war against sabotage of the nation’s economic assets.

He said, “While doing this work, we have stepped on a lot of toes of people over there in Lagos and Abuja. Most times, you see that Tantita Security Services now have engage in open confrontation with the Nigerian Navy, which has refused to cooperate with us in the war against crude oil theft. The Navy is working at cross purposes with other government and private security agencies saddled with the responsibility to curb illegal oil bunkering. The Navy is aiding and abetting these criminals to continue to sabotage the nation’s economy. In fact, the Nigerian Navy is frustrating us. The operatives of the Navy are colluding and collaborating with these criminals to swindle the nation. The operatives are neckdeep in the menace of oil bunkering. They are making it difficult for us to win the war.”

“Just few days ago, men of Tantita Security Services intercepted a vessel carrying stolen crude oil in Port-Harcourt, the personnel of the Nigerian Navy provided escort duties onboard the vessel. The Navy personnel onboard the vessel and others speedily mobilised to the scene with gunboats and other equipment, opened fire on our men and officials of civil defence corp and DSS, who insisted that the vessel cannot sail further.”

The Naval personnel eventually prevailed due to their superior firepower, to secure passage for the vessel.”

“Similar situation occurred at Ovwian community in Delta State, recently, when Naval personnel also overpowered and subdued Tantita operatives to secure safe passage for another vessels carrying stolen crude. The cases of involvement of Naval personnel in oil theft are too many to recount here.”

“Every well-meaning Nigerian knows the function of Nigerian Navy and Tantita now, but nobody wants to come out to face the truth. The Nigerian Navy we support to safeguard the nation’s maritime assets has sacrificed its constitutional obligation for pecuniary benefits,” Ekpemupolo lamented.

Ekpomukpolo didn’t also spare the NBA, adding that its members make their services available to arrested oil thieves.

He added, “If we happen to arrest anybody now, we would get a lawyer from Abuja, Lagos or Ibadan, to deploy all legal nuances to secure freedom for the criminal.”

“We want to implore and beg members of NBA, you have a duty to play in this present situation because if we are not careful in this country, maybe we would 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. 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 capacity to embark on such job here, the person comes from either Lagos or neighbouring countries or Abuja.”

“An hungry man here, who is serving as an errand boy to the barons, is the one that would be arrested.”

However, despite the challenges, Ekpemupolo assured that Tantita would collaborate with other patriotic bodies to ensure steady rise in the production of crude oil.

He congratulated all stakeholders who made the recent attainmenof 1.8mbpd production of crude oil possible and assured that that Tantita would spare no efforts to ensure that 2mbpd of crude oil was attained by December, 2023.

In his response, Osigwe, hailed Tantita and other stakeholders on the attainment of 1.8m barrels of crude oil per day.

He promised that the NBA would collaborate with Tantita and other stakeholders to stamp out the menace of crude oil theft in the region.

Osigwe explained the mission
NBA in the area, adding that “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 in the ability of 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 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, and what the challenges approached, and how the fight has helped improve the Nigerisn economic standing. And after our NEC meeting we heard the big announcement by the NNPCL CEO that oil productionnforbthe first time in many years, risen to 1.8mbpd with the hope of rising to about 2 million barrel per day by December. And we thought that this is very important because in the last few years, Nigeria has been borrowing to fund the budget, borrowing to pay salaries and execute projects…

And 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.

We also thought to take this visit as an opportunity to see the impact of oil exploration in the environment of the oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. And also see in what ways, these communities which form the wealth base of the nation have benefitted from oil exploration activities and how the oil exploration has negatively impacted these communities.”