High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo)

There is a new wave of anger in the Delta following the death of Chief Thomas Osen Ekpemupolo the Tunteriwei of Gbaramatu Kingdom and father of the militant leader High Chief Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo...

Although Tompolo who is wanted by the government on corruption charges linked to a state security contract has distanced himself from the Avengers he has widespread support among the new generation of militant groups...

As a local security expert pointed out Tompolo has more combat experience than the average colonel or general in the Nigerian army...

That was widely interpreted as a snub not only to the Ijaw political elite – Gbaramatu is the spiritual centre of Ijaw nationalism – but specifically to Tompolo eminent local resident and officially retired militant kingpin...

Gbaramatu is Tompolo's base of operations and has been on a high state of alert all year...

Tompolo refuses to appear in court and army manhunts for him into the interior of Gbaramatu have yielded only local resentment towards the military's heavy-handedness...

Tompolo's supporters have had months to prepare the ground for battle...

It also seemed to rule out the involvement of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo as he was on the run and locked in to his own stand-off with the military Joint Task Force (JTF) around Chevron's Escravos base...

Tompolo's firepower is focussed on keeping the JTF at bay...

At the same time the Avengers issued a four-day ultimatum for Tompolo to apologise for denouncing them; reinforcing the competition among militants gangs in the Delta...

Then the Avengers threatened to take their grievances to Tompolo's home turf in the western Delta at Oporoza Gbaramatu Kingdom...

The Avengers' Spokesman Colonel Mudoch Agbinibo demanded an apology from Tompolo for criticising their activities...

Tompolo's Media Advisor Paul Bebenimibo said his boss would never apologise to the Avengers for any imagined slight...

If not for his present issues with the Federal Government he (Tompolo) would have gone after them and exposed them...

Several other militant groups have pledged loyalty to the Buhari government including Eris Paul aka General Ogunboss and his partner Africanus Ukparasia Tuwonwei aka General Africa along with political ally Timipre Sylva a former PDP Governor of Bayelsa who then defected to the APC (AC Vol 56 No 25 Taking down Tompolo)...

Activists in the Delta now talk of a generational split between leaders such as Tompolo and Africa who benefited from amnesty programmes and security contracts in the past and who are publicly arguing that Buhari should be given a chance...

Avengers threatenAgbinibo has talked up the Avengers' fight with Tompolo with the military and the government: 'If the International oil companies and federal government of Nigeria thinks the Niger Delta Avengers are criminal as they claim and fail to meet our demands the Niger Delta Avengers are going to activate its elite unit code name Strike Team 1...

Picking a fight with Tompolo and the army at the same time looks audacious requiring serious finance access to arms and well-trained fighters...

Its targets are the government and the older generation of militants such as High Chief Government Ekpemupolo ('Tompolo') who were well rewarded by President Goodluck Jonathan's government for joining the amnesty programme...

Many suspect the Avengers which might subcontract technical help for operations is from a younger generation of militants angered by the deals that leaders such as Tompolo and Mujahid Dokubo-Asari made with Jonathan's government...

The search is on for the militant kingpin High Chief Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo who has disappeared since a court warrant was issued last month for his arrest on corruption charges (AC Vol 56 No 25 Taking down Tompolo)...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by President Muhammadu Buhari's new anti-corruption chief Ibrahim Magu accuses Tompolo and his associates of siphoning away 34...

The money was allocated to securing the Niger Delta's waterways under Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan an Ijaw man like Tompolo...

The government's Joint Task Force is dug in around Tompolo's Oporoza political base in Gbaramatu Kingdom Delta State not far from American oil major Chevron's Escravos facility (see Map)...

This snaking confluence of creeks and inlets was the battleground in May 2009 for an armed standoff between the JTF and Tompolo's forces at 'Camp five' and the most serious fighting before the ceasefire and Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP; AC Vol 50 No 11 The fight gets more serious)...

Seven years ago the severity of the small war which included a missile strike on the blue corrugated galvanised steel roof of Tompolo's 'palace' by a jet aircraft was instrumental in reaching the original ceasefire between the federal government and the now defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) of which Tompolo was a leading light...

The manhunt for the High Chief follows a 14th January arrest warrant from Justice Ibrahim Buba after Tompolo declined to appear to face charges relating to the EFCC's ongoing investigation into Tompolo's deals with the former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (Nimasa) Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi...

In the 40-count charge sheet presented by the EFCC lawyer Festus Keyamo Tompolo is accused of diverting N34...

Keyamo told the court that the charge sheet had been attached to Tompolo's residence at 1 Chief Agbanu DDPA Extension Warri...

' Tompolo however has refused to appear...

and that Tompolo's house had a black gate whereas the notice had been served on transparent gates...

The government is tightening the political dragnet around Tompolo and Company...

Private navyDelta militants still keen on confrontation with the federal government also note that having sat the election cycle out Tompolo has retained his private navy of seven refitted Norwegian Hauk-class high-speed torpedo support ships (AC Vol 56 No 3 Lots of gunboats little diplomacy)...

Although the oil price should rally eventually with Tompolo's fraternity considering a resumption of war the cost of doing business in the Delta in the near future is hard to calculate...

Twelve angry militants 'With oil prices slipping below 40 dollars a barrel if the government of President Buhari is willing we will help to reduce its price of barrel to 15 dollars […] Nigeria will collapse under the watch of All Progressive Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari as we will do everything necessary to actualize the American prediction' thundered twelve 'retired' Delta fighters as they warned the government off arresting their comrade High Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo...

Egbesu fighters wear magical amulets fashioned by a priesthood which includes Tompolo...

Designed for coastal patrols seven armoured vessels were sold to Tompolo's Global West security outfit for anti-piracy operations in June 2014 (AC Vol 56 No 3 Lots of gunboats little diplomacy)...

At news of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's attempt to arrest Tompolo a series of pipeline explosions broke out on 14 January along the Escravos-Lagos pipeline owned and operated by a subsidiary of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation...

Schools have been closed as the Joint Task Force scours Oporoza for Tompolo's sympathisers...

Not everyone in Gbaramatu supports Tompolo...

Neighbouring Itsekiri groups protested against the ship in 2014 mindful of Tompolo's command role in the 1990s in the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities which made violent land grabs for ethnic Ijaws...

One of the shrewdest and wealthiest militant leaders in the Niger Delta High Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo faces a legal battle that could provoke a new political showdown in the region...

State investigators have already unearthed enough material to ask some awkward questions about Tompolo and his business partners: senior politicians oil companies and British and Norwegian officials who approved the delivery of a fleet of armed vessels to him two years ago (see Box White hats black sails & AC Vol 56 No 22 The cauldron boils again)...

Tompolo's career path from military commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to the boss of security company Global West to which the then President Goodluck Jonathan's government awarded a US$103 million contract made him one of the most powerful figures in the Delta...

Given President Muhammadu Buhari's determination to end the still thriving piracy oil theft and sabotage rackets his officials will need either to cooperate with Tompolo or to confront him...

Under Ibrahim Magu the Assistant Commissioner of Police appointed as acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission the EFCC is spearheading the probe into Tompolo's operations...

Tompolo insists that far from being a fugitive he is counter-claiming...

The government's investigation into Tompolo's affairs follows its launch of investigations into former top officials in Jonathan's government: Colonel Sambo Dasuki the former National Security Advisor; Diezani Allison-Madueke Petroleum Minister; Kingsley Kuku Presidential Amnesty Programme chief...

State agencies are closing in Tompolo...

Their first point of interest was Norway's sale via Britain of seven decommissioned Hauk-class Norwegian naval vessels to Tompolo's company...

Yet Tompolo insists that all his business dealings with state bodies have been above board and claims the EFCC enquiry is part of a wider political vendetta: 'As a full blooded Ijaw man and citizen of Nigeria I have done everything in my power to follow the laws of Nigeria...

Since the amnesty declared in 2009 by late President Yar'Adua I have strained myself to ensure that we all live in peace in this country ' said Tompolo...

' A lot of business is at stake in the investigation namely the multiple contracts Tompolo has with Nimasa for pipeline security and anti-piracy patrols which are not subject to review until 2021...

Tompolo's Spokesman Paul Bebenimibo denied any knowledge of the ship...

Certainly any investigation of Tompolo's business empire is likely to try to unravel the mysteries surrounding Norway's supply of seven naval vessels to the former militant leader...

A wider question is the risk that a campaign against Tompolo might reignite the conflict in the Delta...

Tompolo intends to stand his ground so it could lead to a firefight in the creeks...

At their peak in mid-2009 the battles between Tompolo's fighters in MEND and the army's Joint Task Force (JTF) became so fierce that the government decided that an amnesty and political cooption was the best strategy...

Sylva was formerly a close ally of Tompolo but the two have fallen out...

As Africa Confidential went to press Seriake Dickson was leading by 30 000 votes but officials of the Independent National Election Commission called off voting in the Southern Ijaw area traditionally the Ijaw seat of government where both Tompolo and Sylva have support bases...

Despite Tompolo's initial antipathy towards Jonathan (in 2009 a band of his fighters blew up Jonathan's house in Bayelsa) the two have established a relationship of sorts...

For now Tompolo is standing by Dickson and PDP...

The core claim is that two years ago High Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo acquired a fleet of seven decommissioned Hauk-class Norwegian naval vessels some of which were partly paid for with state funds...

Norwegian politicians and journalists have been exercised about the story since the armoured ships designed for coastal patrol were sold in 2014 to Global West Vessel Specialists Limited an outfit linked to Tompolo for anti-piracy operations...

All eyes are on High Chief Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo...

Having sat out the elections Tompolo has retained his private navy of seven refitted Norwegian Hauk-class high-speed torpedo support ships...

Two very different figures militant leader Tompolo and former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi are likely to play a critical role in the new order...

The wealthiest and most astute militant leader High Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo sat the elections out without offering public support for either side...

Jonathan's strategy was to win over militants such as Tompolo and Asari with big security contracts...

Tompolo now has his own mini-navy (AC Vol 56 No 3 Lots of gunboats little diplomacy)...

The most outstanding example was the award in 2011 of a US$103 million contract for pipeline security to Global West a company headed by an ex-militant leader High Chief Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo...

Now Tompolo is at the centre of a new row over his company's purchase of seven high-speed and recently rearmed Hauk-class ships...

Officials in Jonathan's government have been making payments of billions of naira to former militants such as Tompolo Asari Ateke Tom and Victor Ben Ebikabowei alias Boyloaf (AC Vol 51 No 25 The war against the amnesty)...

Jonathan's circle commends Tompolo for handing over some of his weapons but he has kept most for staff working on the pipeline security contract...

As the biggest ex-militant and security entrepreneur in the Delta Tompolo would play a key role in such a scheme although officials might struggle to persuade some of his less financially successful militant rivals to join it...

Norwegian ship saleMeanwhile the mystery lingers concerning Norway's sale of seven refitted warships to Tompolo's Global West ostensibly for anti-piracy operations...

In January Tompolo called a secret meeting in Asaba Delta State of MEND commanders to discuss the support of some of their number for Buhari and the APC in the elections...

The ambiguous relations between politically favoured former militants such as Tompolo and the Nigerian navy has been attracting some attention from the United States Department of Defense...

) to Government Ekpemupolo 'Tompolo'; N1...

Also in 2011 Jonathan awarded Tompolo's Global West Vessel Specialists Limited a N15 bn...

Tompolo then handed over some of his militia's weaponry to the government as required under the terms of the amnesty but kept back the vast majority claiming it was required for work on the pipeline security contract...

Tompolo has emerged as the most financially successful so far; his rivals would want to see similar commercial benefits from agreeing to controls over the flow of arms...

The naira billionaire and former MEND commander High Chief Government Ekpemupolo ('Tompolo') – who made headlines last year when he purchased a N2...