THE Defence Headquarters has dismissed as laughable allegations made by the Chief Executive Officer of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, that Nigerian Navy personnel were aiding oil theft.
Tompolo had specifically accused the Navy of frustrating the war against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.
Speaking on Monday night while receiving the national leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, led by its National President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), in Delta State, Tompolo lamented that the Navy was working at cross purposes with other state actors and private security outfits tasked with surveillance over the country’s economic assets in the region.
He cited an instance when personnel from the Nigerian Navy openly confronted their counterparts from the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and officials of TSSNL in a desperate attempt to secure passage for oil thieves.
Reacting to the allegations on Thursday during the bi-weekly update on military operations, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, noted that both organisations share the same objectives and should collaborate rather than seek to claim credit or undermine each other.
He said, “As to the question regarding the Nigerian Navy and the CEO of Tantita, you see, I’m almost laughing because it’s laughable. But what I want to say about this situation is this: We seek cooperation, not conflict.
“That’s what we want, that’s what our people want, and that’s what Nigeria wants. We want to increase the crude oil production of our nation to help our economy. That is the mainstay of our economy. We don’t want all this back-and-forth. That’s not what we want. We are going to continue to try to work together. We are all partners.
“But all this cheap blackmail has to stop. Come on, we should move faster. We need to act in the best interest of our nation, particularly at this time when we need that revenue. We will work together with our partners.”
He also emphasised that the aim of the military’s counterinsurgency operations across the country is to locate terrorists and eliminate them wherever they are hiding.
Buba said, “The military is achieving this goal. We will bring overwhelming military force upon them in order to destroy them or force them to surrender. Indeed, we are achieving both. We are decimating them, and several of them have begun to surrender.”
Commenting on the Lakurawa group, he said the military was no longer concerned with their origin but focused on dismantling them for posing a threat to national security.
“Our primary goal is to dismantle this terrorist group, destroy their military capabilities as well as their fighting abilities. We are doing just that,” he added.
Buba, speaking on the recent attack on a military checkpoint in Abia State and allegations of reprisal attacks by the military on the community, said the troops were targeting the terrorists, not innocent citizens.
He stated, “Indeed, on the 13th of November or thereabouts, our troops at a checkpoint in the vicinity of that community were attacked. We recorded some casualties – three, to be exact.
“Now, some members of the community say that they have abandoned the location, alleging reprisals. I need to remind you that we are a professional force. That is not how we operate. Even as there will be consequences for the terrorist group that escalated that situation, our targets are not innocent Nigerians.
“Our targets are the terrorists, and we will go after them. Sooner than later, we will break them into pieces. We are taking up the battle.”
Speaking on the achievements of the troops over the last week, Buba said the army killed 115 terrorists, arrested 289 suspects, and rescued 138 kidnap victims.
He also said they recovered 872,070 litres of stolen crude oil and 67,985 litres of illegally refined diesel worth ₦921 million, dismantling extensive illegal refining operations.