WARRI/Nigeria: The Niger Delta Civil Society Forum (NDCSF) has alleged that a coordinated media campaign against Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited is being orchestrated by oil theft syndicates seeking to undermine ongoing efforts to curb crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.
Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday in Warri, Delta State, the Coordinator of the forum, Mr. Ezekiel Kagbala, warned that some disgruntled elements involved in illegal bunkering activities were sponsoring what he described as a “desperate media war” against the company and its Chairman, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.
Kagbala urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities to remain vigilant against what he called “economic criminals” who, according to him, are disguising as concerned citizens in an attempt to discredit the Federal Government’s pipeline surveillance framework.
According to him, the increasing wave of hostile commentary on social media targeting Tantita and its leadership is a reaction to the disruption of large-scale illegal oil bunkering operations in the region.
“The criminals are angry because their illicit business has been shut down,” Kagbala said. “What we are witnessing is propaganda sponsored by disgruntled elements whose illegal taps have run dry since Tantita intensified surveillance operations in the creeks.”
He added that the alleged campaign was aimed at weakening enforcement mechanisms put in place by the Federal Government to safeguard oil infrastructure and improve national crude production.
Kagbala challenged critics of the surveillance arrangement to look beyond what he described as “political noise” and focus on the measurable outcomes recorded since the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited engaged Tantita Security Services in August 2022.
The NDCSF cited what it described as key indicators of progress, including improvements in Nigeria’s crude oil output which had earlier dropped to about 1.1 million barrels per day before the surveillance contract was awarded.
The forum also pointed to a reduction in illegal refining activities and oil spills in parts of the Niger Delta, noting that the development has contributed to safer waterways and improved livelihoods for fishermen and traders in affected communities.
It further maintained that strengthened surveillance and enforcement have contributed to improved national revenue and renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The forum called on the Presidency to sustain the current security arrangement protecting oil infrastructure, warning that any attempt to undermine the system could pose a threat to Nigeria’s economic and energy security.
“Nigeria must choose progress over propaganda,” Kagbala said. “We cannot afford to return to an era when oil theft thrived unchecked. The intelligence-driven operations that have helped restore sanity in the creeks should be supported rather than politicised.”
The NDCSF also urged Nigerians to support initiatives aimed at protecting national assets and delivering measurable results, while cautioning against narratives that may indirectly favour those benefiting from illegal oil activities.
