– By Our Reporter —
The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has said that there is more to the exposure of some illegal oil pipelines by operatives of the Tantita Security Services Limited, the surveillance outfit of ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, (aka Tompolo) than meets the eye, even as they pointed out that the development left much to be desired.
The Director of Strategic Communication of CNG, Mr Samaila Musa, stated that Tompolo had some questions to answer as to how he was able to quickly detect illegal pipelines despite many years of military intervention.
It would be recalled that Tompolo recently discovered major tapping points on the Trans-Forcados/Ramos Pipeline in Delta State, through which International Oil Companies, security officials, oil bunkers and locals colluded to bleed the country for over nine years now.
These discoveries were made after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited awarded Tompolo a N48bn pipeline surveillance contract.
According to Musa, the North could not be deceived by the “arranged performance” by Tompolo and his team.
“The issue of Tompolo is like giving a thief something to keep for you. To a large extent, you are guaranteed that it would be safe with him, because who else would have been the best to do this? That is what is playing out. He knows the terrain and the people who were in trade with him in the past.
“It was very easy for him because he already knew where all these pipes were. He is only telling us that he went to his people and told them, ‘You are no more in my group’.
“There are still a lot of them going on right now either unchecked or undetected. The persons who know these things and are part of it are just looking the other way. We expect more of these revelations in the coming days, but we are not impressed,” Musa declared.
In a swift reaction, however, the spokesperson of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PNDF), Mr Ken Robinson, said the CNG had no right to ask Tompolo to answer their questions on how he came across the illegal pipelines in a matter of days, adding that the North had been a beneficiary of this theft, “which is why they are unsettled by these revelations by Tompolo.”
Said he: “What is the problem with the Northern Groups? They are the people who have been benefitting from the crude oil. Most of them, except what they see in pictures and television sets, don’t know the colour of this crude oil. Unfortunately, they are the multi-billionaires from a resource that is in our backyard while our communities, environment, and livelihood have been destroyed and degraded and we have nothing to show for it.
“The key beneficiaries of the illegality that has gone on are worried. That is why they are reacting. No reasonable person will say Tompolo should be questioned. What reasonable question will one ask? Tompolo is from the Niger Delta; that was why it was easy for him to locate these people.”
The PNDF spokesperson further stated that the revelation also validated the earlier position of PANDEF that only indigenous persons should man the pipelines in the Niger Delta region.
