Former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, on Monday, August 8, 2016, denied sponsoring the Niger Delta Avengers, the leading militant group operating in the oil-rich region in southern Nigeria.
A statement issued by Tompolo’s spokesman, Paul Bebenimibo, who is also allegedly named as one of the sponsors of the group, described the report as “voodoo.”
A splitter group of the Niger Delta Avengers, Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, had named former President Goodluck Jonathan, Tompolo, Bebenimibo and other prominent individuals as sponsoring the Avengers.
The Niger Delta Avengers has been mounting attacks on major oil production installations in the Niger Delta. The group has succeeded in reducing Nigeria’s daily crude production from 2.2 million barrels a day to less than 600,000 barrels a day.
Bebenimibo, who is also the secretary, Tompolo Foundation, raised the alarm that his life was in danger, saying that he has nothing to do with the militant group.
The statement explained that Tompolo has consistently denied his involvement with the militant group.
It read, “In the same report, my boss, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo was also mentioned as one of the sponsors of the NDA.
“My initial decision was to ignore the said report as a result of the source and the bogus nature of the story; however, in order to set the records straight, I decided to write to dissociate my boss and myself from that wicked and malicious report.”
The statement added, “I wish to advise the Nigerian government to look for better ways to resolve the Niger Delta problem, and not to continue to compound the issue by relying on voodoo means to resolve the issue, like this particular report which could be likened to a voodoo report.
“If a people, that is the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers have claimed to part ways with the Avengers, after destroying almost all the oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, and turn around to claim that they have repented and mentioned some people as sponsors and operatives of the Avengers, then the government and people of this country need to know such people, RNDA, and treat them accordingly, and not the responsible Nigerians they mentioned as sponsors and operatives.”
