Oil theft: Navy is a disappointment, conniving with ship owners to steal crude, blackmailing Tompolo-Group

Following an allegation raised by High Chief(Dr.) Oweizide Government Ekpemupolo Alias Tompolo that the Navy is sabotaging its efforts in the fight against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta Region, a group under the auspices of Ijaw People's Development Initiative, IPDI, today, said, lambasted the Nigerian Navy. The group said, "The Nigerian Navy is a disappointment"

IPDI National Co-ordinator of  Comrade Austin Ozobo in a telephone chat with Our Correspondent said, when the Nigerian Navy was handling the surveillance jobs, the Country made no achievements. 

He said rather than make positive achievements, the Country bled economically stressing that, oil theft was at the highest hierarchy. 

Comrade Ozobo said, the Navy allegedly connived with ship owners to steal crude oil. "Do you know that many ships loaded oil from different points in this country are not recorded? 

"This Navy you see, are fighting Tompolo because, it is no longer business as usual. Navy officials become billionaires overnight through oil theft. Tompolo as a strong man, will not allow them to do that. And you know, he is spoiling their business and that's the anger of the Navy."

Comrade Ozobo who doubles as the National President, Ijaw Publishers Forum, IPF said: "Navy cannot tell us that they don't know anything about oil theft because the menace is so prevalent, the time they were at the peak of the fight against oil theft."

Comrade Ozobo, a human right activist, said, "As you can see, the Navy are just trying to thwart his  efforts. They try to make things look difficult for Tompolo and they're envious of the job. They want to take the job back. So, they can go any length to either blackmail him or either sabotage his efforts to make the government think Tompolo s not making any impact. That's what the Navy is doing."

He explained that, "When Tompolo had not taken over this job, in Forcados Terminal when you want to go to Sokeboulou, there's a Navy Ship there. Anytime you get to that place, if you don't get Asthmatic,you will get other diseases. The level of pollution, if you don't get cought, you will get other diseases relating to cough. If the water stain your clothes either white or plant, it's completely damaged."

According to him, "That's how it was and the Navy are with their big ships, gun boats at the entrance of Sokeboulou in Ogulagha terminal. Why did Navy tell us they don't know anything about it?

"For Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa State at the time Tompolo has not taken over this surveillance job, if you to go Southern Ijaw, they're more than one Army Check Point,one Navy check point just like that the whole entire river. That's the depot of oil bunkering at that time and the Navy, the Military all of them were there. So, am not surprised about what the Navy is doing. 

"They're just struggling to make government believe that they're working and that they should be given the surveillance job. That's just the blackmail they're trying to do. Anybody that's saying Tompolo is trying to blackmail Navy, it's a lie. It is the Navy that's blackmailing him because they're not happy that the job is given to a civilian. They said they(Navy) being military are the right people to handle surveillance job in the Country and that have been the envy from the Navy."

Comrade Ozobo stated that Tompolo is not just shouting out the Navy's sabotage  stressing that issues had played out other times. "There was a time they held a shil in Benin River here, the Navy started shooting, threatening if TANTITA boys come closer,they will shoot them." They boys had to beat a retreat because they're unarmed. 

Comrade Ozobo also said several vessels had also been apprehended and escorted by the Navy when they find out that there was no licence for them to even load in the first instance. 

"A lot of vessels are coming to load at midnight at various loading points with the understanding of the Nigerian Navy aiding and abetting them just to get their cut."

It would be recalled that High Chief(Dr.) Oweizide Government Ekpemupolo Alias Tompolo recently raised an alarm that the Nigerian Navy is sabotaging its efforts in the fight against crude oil theft in the Country. Tompolo made the allegations when the National leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA paid him a courtesy visit at his country home, Oporoza Community, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State. 

Comrade Ozobo added that there's "high level official stealing(oil theft). He said those who are using vessels bribing the Navy, bribing other security, NNPC is conniving. Shell, Chevron, other oil multinationals are conniving. 

"With what's happening, we can now assume or presume that local refineries operation was not the problem. They were only fetching with small cups. It wasn't the problem why Nigeria oil production is depreciating. 

"As we speak now, no local refining operations anywhere. No local oil bunkering anywhere and we have achieved the benchmark of 3million barrels per day. 

"The Nigerian Government should look inward where the massive stealing is coming from. There's official stealing. Government Officials, multinationals when they will come and load one, they will steal three unknown to the Government or even known to Government officials but they connive. They aid and abet with them. That's the problem.

"The Navy officials should be called to order. They should not think that they're security apparatus that they can do and undo. Except Nigeria is a lawless place. A banana republic. 

If Nigeria is a place of law, the law governing the civilians should also govern the Navy. So, they should not come and just be misbehaving. We bought those guns for them with tax payers money. If they're incompetent, we withdraw the guns from them", he added.