Some Niger Delta militants have asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Government to vacate some properties purportedly owned by ex-militant warlord, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo within thirty days.
The militants who vowed to launch a regime of renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta region should their demand is shunned, urged President Muhmmadu Buhari to take urgent steps to intervene in ensuring that the EFCC vacates Tompolo’s property as well as have his accounts unfrozen.
The militants who spoke under the auspices of the 21st Century Youths of the Niger Delta and Agitators With Conscience (21st CYNDAC) cautioned that the Ijaw nation and “Niger Delta youths would no longer fold their hands and watch a leader of the region unjustly framed up politically and oppressed with federal might.”
In a statement signed by its Coordinator, Izon Ebi, the 21st CYNDAC maintained that Buhari’s intervention was pressingly needed before what it called growing anxieties in the Niger Delta region gets out of control.
The statement noted: “The treatment meted out on Tompolo and his family by the EFCC and other Federal Government agencies is the height of oppression on one of our leaders in the Niger Delta.
“We, therefore, call on President Buhari to quickly intervene to show that he means well for the Niger Delta region and its people as assured in the just concluded round table discussion between governors of the region, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.”
The group added: “The peace in the creeks of the Niger Delta can be attributed to Tompolo’s efforts and commitment to maintain peace. Therefore, the onus lies on the Federal Government to do the needful and vacate his property.”
