Tompolo, Pipeline Surveillance, Limits of Misleading Information

Given that Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, has started to try and position himself as the primary person "securing" Nigeria's pipelines, it might be necessary for the Nigerian authorities to make clear the situation regarding the pipeline surveillance contract given to a group of private companies.

This is the furthest thing from the truth. Of the 'If you see something, say something mandate of the surveillance contract, Tompolo and his men are expected to make use of their experience with Nigeria's extensive creek systems and supply the military with intelligence as required. Tompolo's situation is comparable to that of a low-level support employee attempting to claim credit for the accomplishments of a CEO or board of directors. not only attempting to claim credit but openly downplaying or negating the efforts of those who are actually undertaking the labour-intensive work.

He is indeed beneficial, and the intelligence they provide is very valuable, but Tompolo and his men do not prosecute or destroy seized property; instead, these authorities belong to and stay with the Nigerian government, which is carrying out its duties with the seriousness that is necessary.

The Nigerian military acted quickly and decisively upon intelligence provided by the pipeline surveillance teams, deploying personnel and platforms to ensure arrests were made and the criminal ship was destroyed. This intelligence resulted in the recent news of an arrest and the destruction of a vessel. This is in accordance with the new instructions to that effect, which call for the arrest of the offenders and the destruction of their weapons of the crime as a potent deterrence.

According to military insiders, the Niger Delta is too large for the military to cover on its own from an intelligence-gathering perspective due to the magnitude of its creeks.

Nobody knows these locations better than the locals who live there, as many of the pipes in the area pass through very remote villages and communities that are primarily swamps and marshes. Hence the choice to employ them in surveillance as a sort of neighbourhood policing.

But the Nigerian military is still responsible for carrying out the actual process of making arrests, seizing the tools being used, and destroying the illegal connections and refineries.

Along with the current naval bases in the region, spread among the Western, Eastern, and Central Naval Commands, there is Operation Delta Safe, a Joint Task Force that unites all the different law enforcement agencies, including the Navy, Army, Air Force, Police, DSS, Civil Defence, and others.

It is commendable that the Defense Headquarters has begun to take more action to highlight the victories being made in the fight against oil theft, but more must be done to inform Nigerians about what the government is doing and to stop opportunists like Tompolo from attempting to claim credit for efforts that they have no right to make.

Ehis Uchemba
Security Consultant based in Bayelsa