Gbaramatu Youths Development Association A.k.a, Gbaramatu Youths Council,GYC has called on the Department of State Security(DSS), the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Navy to arrest, investigate and prosecute the Delta South Senatorial Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP,Hon. Michael Diden A.k.a, Ejele for allegedly inciting communal crisis in Warri following the recent INEC ward delineation<\/p>\n
In a press conference today(11\/4\/2025) in Warri, the youths led by Kingsley.E. Arerebo, President and Tarike Raphael.E., Secretary alleged that in a viral video circulating on social media platforms, Hon. Diden called for attacks on Ijaw individuals from Gbaramatu Kingdom employed by TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited for performing their legitimate duties particularly when oil thieves use Itsekiri communities as a cover for their illegal activities.<\/p>\n
“Let it be categorically stated that TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited is not a Gbaramatu-owned company, nor is it exclusive to any ethnic group. It is a national security contractor with a federal mandate to protect critical oil infrastructure and curb theft. Reducing TANTITA’s work to a Gbaramatu agenda is a deliberate attempt to undermine a legitimate federal initiative.”<\/p>\n
According to the youths, TANTITA employ Nigerians from across ethnic divides, including over three thousand Itsekiri youths, either directly or through subcontractors operating across the Niger Delta. “Ejele’s attempt to incite Itsekiri youths against Tantita employees, who are carrying out national assignments, is both dangerous and deeply irresponsible.” they said<\/strong><\/p>\n The youths said further: “It is not lost on us that this same man\u2014who poses as a pastor while allegedly abusing and impregnating women under his spiritual care is capable of any act, no matter how reckless. His threats should be taken seriously by the federal government.<\/p>\n “We firmly believe that Ejele’s bitterness stems from the disruption of his alleged involvement in illegal oil bunkering by Tantita’s operations.<\/p>\n “Frustrated by the clampdown on oil theft, he now seeks to incite ethnic unrest to create a safe haven for his illegal trade. This makes it imperative for the federal government to monitor his activities and prevent him from destabilizing the relative peace in the region.”<\/p>\n The Gbaramatu youths noted that,”the oil and gas industry has suffered for years from illegal bunkering and vandalism and that since its inception, Tantita has recovered billions of dollars in stolen crude, disrupted illegal refining operations, and contributed significantly to environmental protection.<\/p>\n “Perhaps Ejele is unaware that oil-bearing communities, including Itsekiri areas, benefit directly from Tantita’s operations. The 3% allocation for community development under the Petroleum Industry Act can only be fully realized when oil infrastructure is protected from sabotage. To suggest that Tantita should stand down because oil thieves use local communities as cover is to imply that these communities should remain underdeveloped. They stressed<\/p>\n “As already stated, Tantita’s workforce includes Nigerians from various ethnicity, working alongside the military and other government agencies. Any claim that Tantita is “invading” ethnic communities is not only false but also an insult to the Nigerian Armed Forces who collaborate in these security efforts.”<\/p>\n The Gbaramatu youths challenged Mr. Diden to provide verifiable evidence of any such invasion. “No such record exists. His claims are a smokescreen designed to protect illegal operations that impoverish our people and devastate the environment.”<\/p>\n They stated that Gbaramatu Kingdom has always been known for peace, hospitality, and a strong commitment to national unity.\u00a0\u00a0“We have never attacked any of our neighbors, including the Itsekiri people, nor do we intend to.”<\/p>\n “We therefore find it offensive that someone like Ejele-whose reputation is widely discredited-would involve our kingdom in his personal vendettas. The Gbaramatu Youth Council unequivocally dissociates our people from these dangerous provocations. “It is no secret that Michael Diden is uncomfortable with Tantita’s success.<\/p>\n His video is a textbook case of incitement-filled with lies and designed to provoke inter-ethnic violence.<\/p>\n “We call on the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Police Force, and the Nigerian Navy to urgently investigate Mr. Diden and bring him to justice. Under Section 366 of the Criminal Code Act, anyone who threatens violence to compel or deter lawful action is guilty of a felony and subject to up to five years’ imprisonment. This case clearly falls within that provision.<\/p>\n “As enshrined in Section 42 of the Criminal Code Act, any person who, without lawful authority, carries on, or makes preparation for carrying on, or aids in or advises the carrying on of, or preparation for, any war or warlike undertaking with, for, by, or against, any traditional chief, or with, for, by, or against any band of citizens, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life. We therefore call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Michael Diden for inciting communal conflict.<\/p>\n “It is no surprise to us that providence denied Diden a seat in the Senate.<\/p>\n Leadership is not for those who promote division or hide behind ethnic sentiment to protect personal interests. His defeat at the polls reflects public recognition of his unfitness for leadership-and this latest outburst only reinforces that view.<\/p>\n “The Gbaramatu Youth Council remains fully committed to peace and regional development. We refuse to be provoked into violence. However, if state security forces fail to act, the Gbaramatu Youth Security Council will take necessary steps to protect our people from targeted attacks.”<\/p>\n The Gbaramatu youths also urged their Itsekiri brothers and sisters to reject this divisive rhetoric. It said,”The true enemies are not those securing national assets, but those exploiting the region’s resources for personal gain.”<\/p>\n The Gbaramatu youths also issued a final word of caution saying,”No one has a monopoly on provocation. But for the sake of peace, we will continue to show restraint. Our silence should not be mistaken for fear. We remain vigilant, united, and committed to defending our land, our name, and the peace we have always stood for.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gbaramatu Youths Development Association A.k.a, Gbaramatu Youths Council,GYC has called on the Department of State Security(DSS), the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Navy to arrest, investigate and prosecute the Delta South Senatorial Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP,Hon. Michael Diden A.k.a, Ejele for allegedly inciting communal crisis in Warri following the recent INEC ward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[6240,6241,6239],"class_list":["post-31279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state","tag-gbaramatu-youth-council","tag-hon-michael-didenejele","tag-kingsley-e-arerebo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gbaramatu-e1744401917641.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-88v","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31281,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31279\/revisions\/31281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}