Nigerian Military Laughs Off Tompolo’s Oil Theft Claims, Warns Against Cheap Blackmail

The Defence Headquarters has warned the Chief Executive Officer of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, to desist from blackmailing the country’s military.

During the bi-weekly update on military operations on Thursday, November 21, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, dismissed the allegations by Tompolo as laughable.

Recall that the former Niger Delta militant leader on Monday, accused the Nigerian Navy of aiding and abetting oil theft in the region.

He recounted how naval personnel had severally shot at his men, Department of State Service (DSS) officials and officers of the Nigeria Security and Defence Corps (NSCDC) while performing pipeline surveillance duties in a desperate attempt to secure passage for oil thieves.

Reacting to the allegation, Buba called for cooperation, urging parties involved to shun conflict, adding that the cooperation is what the country needs to boost crude oil production, which will help the economy.

Buba said, “As to the question regarding the Nigerian Navy and the CEO of Tantita, you see, I’m almost laughing because it’s laughable. But what I want to say about this situation is this: We seek cooperation, not conflict.

“That’s what we want, that’s what our people want, and that’s what Nigeria wants. We want to increase the crude oil production of our nation to help our economy. That is the mainstay of our economy. We don’t want all this back-and-forth. That’s not what we want. We are going to continue to try to work together. We are all partners.

The military warned against conflict and blackmail stating, “But all this cheap blackmail has to stop. Come on, we should move faster. We need to act in the best interest of our nation, particularly at this time when we need that revenue. We will work together with our partners.”

“The military is achieving this goal. We will bring overwhelming military force upon them in order to destroy them or force them to surrender. Indeed, we are achieving both. We are decimating them, and several of them have begun to surrender,” he concluded.

Oil theft has remained a disturbing issue in Nigeria’s energy sector.

Recently, Shell Plc urged the Federal Government to pay more attention to the fight against oil theft and illegal refining in the country to safeguard the nation’s resources and protect the environment