WARRI INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT REBUFFS TANTITA SECURITY COMPANY’S COUNTER PROTEST

The Warri Indigenous People’s Movement (WIPM) has dismissed a counter-protest by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, led by Oweizide Thomas Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, against their recent protest and petition against the company’s excesses in the Warri Area of Delta State.

Chairman of WIPM, Hon. Kingsley Tenumah, in a statement signed by him and General Secretary Comr. Monoyo Edon, described Tompolo’s actions as diversionary tactics. “We have never been against Tompolo and his surveillance contract. However, calling out Tompolo and his company for derailing from the scope of the contract is not a witch-hunt,” Tenumah said.

Kingsley Tenumah further explained that the issue is not about Tompolo’s Ijaw ancestry, but rather about the company’s alleged atrocities against the Itsekiri people. “It is nothing but sheer blackmail for the sympathizers of Tompolo and his Tantita to think we are opposing Tompolo because of his Ijaw ancestry,” he added.

The WIPM accused Tantita Security Services of annexing Itsekiri communities and chasing away their inhabitants. “In the course of executing the contract, Tompolo and his Tantita Security Services have deployed different strategies to annexing Itsekiri communities and chasing away their inhabitants,” the statement read.

The group cited specific incidents, including the arrest and torture of Itsekiri individuals in Usor and Tisun communities, and the alleged annexation of Omadino settlements such as Ajelebe and Akpata. “Men of Tantita stormed Usor and Tisun communities in Warri North, illegally arrested defenseless Itsekiris, whisked them to Oporaza to a private cell where they were tortured and starved,” the statement alleged.

The WIPM also accused Tompolo’s company of interfering with the INEC Ward Delineation exercise, where coordinates of communities in Ondo and Bayelsa states were allegedly stolen and imported to Warri North and Warri South LGAs to boost their population.

Comr. Monoyo Edon and Hon. Kingsley Tenumah emphasized that the Itsekiri people will resist any attempts to annex their land and culture. “Renewing the contract in our area to Tompolo, a sworn enemy of the Itsekiri people, is an infringement on Section 257 of the PIA,” the statement concluded.