TWO first-class monarchs in
Delta State, the Olu of Warri Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Ogiame
Ikenwoli and the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom, HRM Orhue I, have asked youths
in the Niger Delta region to stop bombing crude oil and gas pipelines as
a way of drawing government attention to their perceived grievances.
The monarchs, who spoke separately at their palaces when they played
host to the Commander-General of Riverine Security Coast Guard of the
Federation, Commander Oduku Bibi and his members, said the era of
pipeline bombing was over with the successful implementation of the
amnesty programme for ex-militants from the region. Ateke Tom condemns attack on oil facilities
Meanwhile, former Niger Delta agitator, Chief Ateke Tom, has
condemned the recent attack on oil facilities in Delta State by
suspected ex-militants.
Ateke, who currently is the leader of Niger Delta Vigilante, NDV,
admonished youths to desist from acts that threaten the peace and unity
of the country, warning aggrieved youths to channel their grievances to
appropriate quarters and stop acts of criminality and pipeline
vandalism.
Ateke, speaking through his assistant on media, Mr. Ifeanyi Ogbonna,
bemoaned the level of destruction done to oil facilities in Delta State,
describing the acts as economic sabotage.
“Nobody has the right to take the law into his or her hands for
whatever reason, to destroy government property. The oil installation
you destroy today has dire consequences on your tomorrow. Poverty is
not an excuse to commit crime. This country belongs to all of us and we
should not destroy it. We should join hands with the present
administration to build a better Nigeria of our dream.”
In another development, Warri, once a rendezvous for ex-militants
across the Niger Delta region, has become a no-go area to them in the
last few days, following the hunt by the Joint Task Force, JTF, for
those who carried out the three-day bombing of crude oil and gas
pipelines in Delta State.
Virtually all associates of the former General Officer Commanding,
GOC, of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND,
Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, have fled Warri because they are
under watch by the task force, which had stormed the houses of some of
them.
Meanwhile, the two monarchs charged youths of the region to shun
kidnapping, pipeline vandalism and all forms of criminality and embrace
peace for the speedy development of the region.
They charged Niger Delta youths to embrace the peace initiative of
the Riverine Security Coast Guard of the Federation, adding that
securing oil installations was the responsibility of all Niger Deltans. Scene of the pipeline bombings
They remarked that those vandalizing oil pipelines and spilling oil
in the environment were not doing the government any harm, but were
rather destroying the Niger Delta ecosystem.
The royal fathers tasked youths of the region to be their brothers’ keepers and support one another.
The Orodje of Okpe said that with the current Boko Haram insurgency
in the North-East and the steady fall in global oil price, the nation
could not afford another crisis in the Niger Delta.
HRM Ogiame Ikenwoli, on his part, said that what the region needs now
is peace to attract investors to create employment for youths, saying
that no investor will take his investment to an area where there is
unceasing crisis. Youths flee Warri
A source disclosed, yesterday, that security agents visited the
residence of a top manager of Oil Facility Surveillance Limited, OFSL,
an oil facilities/installations’ safety, security and surveillance
company in Delta State, owned by Tompolo, on Tuesday, but did not meet
him.
“They arrested two young men found in the house. They have made
several arrests but they appear to be targeting Tompolo’s boys. In fact,
they have made Warri too hot for them,” the source said.
The top manager, who is on the run, is among those recently charged
to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, along
with Tompolo. Vanguard learned that security operatives were secretly
watching Tompolo’s expansive mansion in Warri, which EFCC officials
visited, last year, to serve a court process on him.
However, Tompolo does not frequently use his Warri residence. He
prefers creek life and is always in Oporoza, the traditional
headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, in Warri South-West Local Government
Area.
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