October 07, (THEWILL) – The Bayelsa State Government has alerted the Chief of Defence Staff, General Chris Musa; the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the Director- General of the Department of State Security, DSS, Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, to the breach of peace in 14 autonomous communities and 48 fishing communities in the state, following an alleged invasion by agents of Tantita Security Services, a private security company owned by Government Ekpemupolo, aka, Tom Polo, a former Niger Delta militant leader.
The private security outfit got a N48 billion contract from the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited to protect oil installations and distribution pipelines in the Niger Delta region from vandals and oil thieves. The alleged invasion has raised tension in the communities in Opuama Kingdom of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which hosts multimillion dollar oil assets operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, NAOC, and Chevron.
Reports claim that some indigenes of Opuama kingdom were allegedly assaulted and injured and several homes were invaded by agents of the security outfit on the pretext of searching for suspected oil thieves, thereby forcing youths in the area to declare a showdown with them.
The Technical Assistant to Governor Duoye Diri on General Duties, Hon. Opumie Collins Trueman, who confirmed the invasion to journalists on Sunday described the attack on the defenceless people of the kingdom as “condemnable, barbaric and a gross misconduct on the part of the security pipeline surveillance company.”
According to the official, trouble started when some youths, who were loading sands into their boats at the waterside waved to the speed boats of Tantita operatives to slow down to prevent their sand- filled canoe from capsizing, were dragged out of the boats and whipped with horse-whips and machetes. Others who protested were dragged from their homes nearby and severely beaten.
Hon. Trueman, who denied that Opuama youths were involved in illegal oil bunkering, narrated his experience to journalists in Yenagoa, the state capital. He said, “On Wednesday, I got a phone call from the youths that Tantita Security Services had invaded their communities. When I got there, I found aged mothers and youths crying that they had been badly treated by Tantita operatives.”Trueman said he urged the people to remain calm and expect the relevant authorities to intervene in the matter, while he expressed “disappointment over the action of Tantita operatives.”
Arguing that the era of militancy in the Niger Delta was over and the youths had become gainfully engaged, he called on the Federal and State governments and security agencies to investigate the incident to avoid a possible bloody confrontation between angry Opuama youths and the Tantita Security operatives, which might lead to disruption of the activities of major oil companies in the area, with an attendant negative economic impact on the country’s already struggling economy.
“I also want to caution and call on the NSA, the Federal and State governments, as well as the Chief of Defence Staff to call the Tantita operatives to order. These operatives should be professional in their behaviour. And the security operatives working with them should even be more professional,” Trueman said.
Also speaking to journalists in Yenagoa on Sunday, the Territorial Youth President of the Opuama Kingdom, Comrade Omatebe Foster Kurotimi, confirmed the incident.
Kurotimi said a formal complaint was lodged with the State Headquarters of the DSS and the Zone 16 Command of the Nigerian Police Force, warning that even though Opuama Youths were law-abiding and peaceful, the invasion of the communities by operatives of Tantita Security Services had threatened the peace in the area.
According to him, “We are law abiding and in as much as we want peace, Tantita should adopt professionalism while in search of oil thieves. Invading communities and chasing people and beating them with dangerous weapons should not be condoned.
“To Tantita, Opuama case is always different. They rounded up indigenes of the fishing settlement, took them to their houseboat and started flogging them. It is unprofessional. While we are ready to work with the Federal Government, security agencies and Tantita cannot not continue to oppress our youths to the point of starting a revolt. We need to avoid a possible bloody confrontation.”
Efforts to get an official reaction from Tantita Security Services failed as none of the officials was available for comments. But a worker who asked not to be named denied knowledge of the company’s operation in the communities, claiming that it was not the only surveillance company operating in the vicinity.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Bayelsa, SP Chris Mark was said to be unavailable for comment. A female officer who said she was speaking from the police control room, told THEWILL that as of Sunday, the police was yet to receive any such report. “But I cannot say what may happen on Monday, being a working day,” she said.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
