The leader of the defunct Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Government
Ekpemupolo, has slammed President
Muhammadu Buhari ignorance about situation of
the Niger Delta region.
He said the APC-led Federal Government is only
interested in the oil produced in the region and
not the well-being of its people.
Ekpemupol (AKA Tompolo), in his latest letter to
the President, also accused him of unfair
treatment and alleged molestation of his 84-
year-old father, Chief Thompson Ekpemupolo.
He claimed that his octogenarian father lost a
lower limb to amputation following his encounter
with troops of the Federal Government who
invaded Kurutie, Warri South West Local
Government Area in May.
He urged the President to take keener interest in
the affairs of the region and investigate
allegations against him instead of judging him by
what politicians say about him.
He said, “As it stand now, you are not abreast
with things happening in this part of the country,
perhaps you are only abreast with crude oil
exploration activities in the Niger Delta region.
“I do not need to remind Your Excellency that,
the primary duty of any government is to seek
after the welfare and security of the citizenry,”
he said.
On his father’s travails, he added, “The military
went to Kurutie Town in search of my 84-year-old
father and brutalized him. We managed to rescue
him to Warri and hospitalised him.
“Sadly, one of his lower limbs was amputated
two weeks ago. From the doctors report, it will be
a miracle if he survives this incident. Is this 84
years old man also a member of the Niger Delta
Avengers, that he was brutalised to the point of
death?
“Will your Excellency accept this in good faith if
this was done to your father or someone of this
age in your family? I have not heard of anyone
that was treated like this even in the volatile
North Eastern part of the country,” he added
Tompolo, who dwelled extensively on his case
with the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission as well as the N13bn NIMASA
University land acquisition debacle, urged the
President to deploy his trusted aides to the area
to ascertain the true state of affairs.
He hinted that the issue of his alleged fraud was
being used as a tool of blackmail and political
vendetta, stressing that if the president took
time to investigate the matter the truth would be
revealed.
Nevertheless, he maintained his avowal to adopt
lawful means always and not violence to prove
his case with the EFCC.
Yet he said, “Your Excellency sir, I have been
wondering since the beginning of my travails at
your instance, and I wish to ask whether, is this
part of the fight against corruption in Nigeria? Or
was it because I supported my kinsman, former
president Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general
elections? I thought everyone in Nigeria has the
liberty to support whoever he or she deemed fit
in an election.
“And as Dr Jonathan bravely accepted the
outcome of the election, which brought you in as
President of Nigeria today, I thought you will heal
wounds as the father of the Nation. And it was on
this premise that I visited you immediately after
your swear-in ceremony to pledge my loyalty
and readiness to work with your administration.
“I am yet to be told the reason for all these
shenanigans exhibited by your security agencies
and party members. I really want to know
whether this macabre dance is being declared by
you or is it out of their own volition to perpetuate
this high level of hatred on my person and close
associates? It has really gotten to a worrisome
dimension as the situation is getting deteriorated
by the day.
“The latest victims of this unwarranted,
misdirected and wicked act are Hon. Simeon
Bebenimibo, a member of the Delta State
Waterway and Land Security Committee and a
driver of one of my aides, Mr Ebipade Kari, who
was on an errand with a little baby.
“The baby was thrown away from the vehicle, as
the driver was beaten to pulp by your men, as he
was asked the whereabouts of his boss.
“That was not all, the military men stormed the
house of one of my younger brothers, and
harassed his pregnant wife with guns pointed at
her. This has led to complications because of the
closeness to her full time of delivery.
“The duo who were arrested are presently in the
custody of the Nigerian Army, Effurun. Before
this incident, the Navy went to the apartment of
another of my aide, and picked up his heavily
pregnant wife as he was out of town, and kept
her for 24 hours in the Navy base before
releasing her.
“The truth of the matter is that I have been
treated unfairly by you sir. After all these
hullabaloo about the Nigerian Maritime
University, Okerenkoko, in which I was accused
of some wrong doing, you are yet to send
emissaries to Okerenkoko (permanent site) and
Kurutie( temporary site) of the University to
ascertain the level of things on ground.”
