Beyond pipeline security: Battle over Tantita’s operations in N’Delta

A fresh controversy has erupted over the operations of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, the private pipeline surveillance firm linked to former Niger Delta militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, following allegations by a Niger Delta human rights advocate that the company operates illegal detention facilities and subjects critics to unlawful arrests, torture and intimidation.

The allegations, contained in a petition addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by Apostle Perela Ezekiel, have intensified scrutiny of Tantita’s operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta. While Ezekiel urged the Federal Government to investigate the claims and dismantle the alleged detention centres, Tantita, community leaders, security agencies and civil society groups have strongly denied the allegations, insisting there is no evidence to support them and calling for an independent investigation.

Ezekiel, a Niger Delta-based human rights advocate, has been at loggerheads with Tantita over its pipeline surveillance operations and what he described as the alleged harassment and intimidation of critics and residents. Tantita, owned by Tompolo, is contracted by the Federal Government to protect critical oil infrastructure from vandalism and crude oil theft.

The rights advocate alleged that Tompolo was using the Federal Government’s pipeline surveillance contract to settle personal scores and oppress people in the Niger Delta. He subsequently petitioned President Tinubu, accusing the former militant leader of operating private detention facilities in Oporoza, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.

In the petition, Ezekiel alleged that Tantita operatives “routinely invade communities across the Niger Delta to kidnap anyone who dares to speak out against Tompolo.” He further claimed that Tompolo operates four illegal detention centres in Oporoza and accused him of perpetrating “ruthless oppression, abductions and systematic torture against fellow Niger Deltans, particularly the Ijaw people.”

The petitioner also alleged that personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps attached to Tantita “are actively used to drag citizens to Oporoza in handcuffs and leg chains.”

The petition reads in part, “A terror group based at Oporoza House in Gbaramatu Kingdom, led by Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo (popularly known as Tompolo), has established a network of terror characterised by ruthless oppression, abductions and systematic torture against fellow Niger Deltans, particularly the Ijaw people.

“These operatives routinely invade communities across the Niger Delta to kidnap anyone who dares to speak out against Tompolo. Armed security personnel, particularly Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officers attached to Tantita Security Services, are actively used to drag citizens to Oporoza in handcuffs and leg chains.

“Once in Oporoza, victims face unspeakable atrocities. They are severely beaten to the point of coma and sprayed with pepper all over their bodies.”

According to the petitioner, the alleged victims cut across the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Ijaw ethnic groups, whom he claimed had been subjected to “harsh conditions, severe intimidation, hard labour and torture.”

In the petition, Ezekiel listed several individuals whom he alleged were victims of unlawful detention, abduction and abuse linked to Tompolo’s operations, urging President Tinubu to order an independent investigation into the claims.

According to the petition, Balamene Karowei was allegedly abducted from his home in Bayelsa State on July 11, 2024, by an individual identified as Bodmas Kemepadei and has remained in what Ezekiel described as an illegal detention facility. The petitioner also alleged that Charles Korubo was abducted in Bayelsa State in November 2024 in an operation he claimed involved Kemepadei and was similarly detained.

Ezekiel further alleged that Patrick Peresuodei died after being tortured following a dispute on social media. In the petition, he claimed that the incident involved Bodmas Kemepadei and four officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. He also alleged that an offer of N50m was made to the deceased’s parents, which he claimed they rejected.

The allegations were not accompanied by documentary evidence in the petition.

The petitioner also named several persons whom he claimed were later released after periods of detention.

Among them, he alleged that Abraye Freeborn was detained for several weeks before being released following sustained public advocacy. He further claimed that Freeborn was subsequently offered employment at the Presidential Amnesty Programme’s annex office in Warri.

Ezekiel also alleged that Tunde Tamara-Ebikemiyane was taken from his residence in Warri before being released after public pressure. He claimed Tamara-Ebikemiyane was made to sign a disclaimer denying Tompolo’s involvement.

The petition further alleged that Diver Daniel was abducted from Ofunama community in Edo State by a group allegedly led by one Super Ebilade after criticising Tompolo on social media. Ezekiel claimed Daniel was detained for several weeks before regaining his freedom.

He also alleged that Prince Moses was detained in Oporoza for several weeks in early 2024 before being released, while Rawlings Kakumor was allegedly held for more than six months before his eventual release.

In addition, the petition listed several other individuals whom Ezekiel claimed had experienced unlawful detention or other forms of abuse. They include Solomon Ayoro, Peter Zeblon, Samuel Kponah, Managing Gbagidi, Morrison Arigidi, Samson Ovomajiri, Monday, Moses Richard, Moses Obukokwo, Samson Edema, Afejuku Jolomi and Omamuminogho Molagbemi.

Ezekiel said he was prepared to cooperate with any official investigation into the allegations.

“I am ready and willing to present myself for a private investigation to provide further information regarding my claims,” he stated.

The petitioner appealed to President Tinubu to direct relevant security and investigative agencies to examine the allegations and, where necessary, take appropriate action in accordance with the law.

Ezekiel stated that he was willing to cooperate with any independent investigation into the allegations.

“I am ready and willing to present myself for a private investigation to provide further information regarding my claims. The international community is fully aware that these issues remain ongoing,” he said.

Appealing to President Tinubu to intervene, he said, “As the Commander-in-Chief and as a father who understands the agony of having loved ones ripped away from their families, we appeal to your sense of justice.

“We urge you to step in immediately, dismantle these illegal detention facilities, bring those responsible for murder and torture to justice, and free our people from this internal oppression.”

Responding to the allegations during a visit by our correspondent to the coastal community of Oporoza, Tompolo’s spokesman, Dr. Paul Bebenimibo, dismissed the claims, saying, “Tantita would not want to glamorise their antics.”

However, sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak officially on the issue, said the accusers had yet to provide evidence to substantiate their claims, warning that such allegations, if unverified, could inflame tensions in the Niger Delta.

Some residents of Oporoza also told our correspondent they were unaware of the existence of any detention facility in the community.

During an independent visit to Oporoza on Saturday, our correspondent observed that, apart from the Oporoza Police Station, no other detention facility was visible in the town.

Reacting to the allegations, the spokesman for Gbaramatu Kingdom, High Chief Godspower Gbenekana, dismissed the petition as a smear campaign.

“When illegal benefits stop, you can expect such people to engage in mudslinging. Sincerely speaking, the author of the purported open letter to the President cannot be trusted,” he said.

“Tompolo works with the police, the Navy, the Army and the NSCDC. These are security agencies with the constitutional powers to arrest and prosecute offenders. If anyone is accusing Tompolo of operating an illegal prison, the public should carry out an independent investigation.

“How can Tompolo be operating an illegal prison when he works closely with security agencies that have the powers to arrest and prosecute? Suspects arrested during pipeline surveillance operations are handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution. Where imprisonment is necessary, it is the courts that make such decisions.

“My advice to Mr. President is to sustain the momentum of the fight against crude oil theft across the country, particularly in the Niger Delta.

“I also urge the Federal Government to deploy investigators to Oporoza. Tompolo does not operate any private prison. He works with government security agencies, and they would not permit such illegalities under their watch.”

Similarly, the Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative said it was unaware of any Ijaw person who had been arrested or brutalised by Tantita.

In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Austin Ozobo, the group described the allegations contained in the open letter as false and defamatory.

“We categorically reject and condemn the false, defamatory and malicious allegations contained in the open letter,” Ozobo said.

“The list of names contained in the online letter, allegedly of persons detained in Oporoza, is unsupported by verifiable records, police reports, medical reports, court filings or complaints to the National Human Rights Commission. Publishing names alongside allegations of abduction and death without evidence is defamatory.

“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, security agencies and the public to disregard this campaign of calumny.”

Other prominent stakeholders in the region also cautioned against actions capable of undermining public confidence, threatening regional peace and damaging reputations.

Among them was the immediate past Area Commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Warri Area Command, Mrs. Philomena Anigbogu, who said the NSCDC and Tantita had continued to collaborate in protecting oil facilities and curbing the activities of crude oil thieves and pipeline vandals in the Niger Delta.

Despite the denials, Ezekiel maintained that his concerns about Tantita’s operations were genuine.

He said, “Tompolo and I were very close allies as fellow Niger Delta freedom fighters until January this year, when our relationship turned sour over differences regarding the operations of the pipeline surveillance project.

“Specifically, I fell out with Tompolo on January 25, 2026, following his hard-line posture on Tantita’s operations in Bayelsa State, led by Bodmas.

“Before then, I had exhausted all internal mechanisms to address what I considered excesses, but to no avail.

“Whenever I approached Tompolo to advise him to use his position fairly, he refused to listen. Sometimes, he even shouted me down.

“Tompolo is an ungrateful human being. He does not remember all the good I did for him. It was after our confrontation that I resolved to focus on human rights advocacy and the pursuit of justice for the fair treatment of Niger Delta people. Since then, Tompolo has been threatening my life.”

When contacted, the Delta State Commandant of the NSCDC, Chinedu Igbo, said he was unaware of the existence of any private detention facility anywhere in the state.

“As the Commandant of the NSCDC in Delta State, I have not received any report or complaint about such allegations. Frankly, the petitioner does not know what he is talking about,” he said.

“Tantita is a registered private security organisation, and everyone knows the role it is playing in safeguarding the Niger Delta against illegal oil bunkering. The organisation has recorded tremendous success in curbing crude oil theft in the region.

“If anyone has concerns about Tantita’s operations, there are proper channels through which such issues can be addressed. As far as I am concerned, I have neither received any report nor been informed of any such incident.”

The spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, also dismissed the allegations, saying the command had not received any petition or report regarding the existence of any private detention facility in the state.

“There is no record of any such incident in the Delta State Police Command,” Edafe said. (Punch)