Tensions Flare in Niger Delta as Warri Reclamation Thrust Demands Removal of Tantita Security from Itsekiri Homeland

WARRI — The fragile peace in the oil-rich Niger Delta faces a renewed test as the Warri Reclamation Thrust, a prominent local advocacy group, has issued a fierce ultimatum to the Federal Government demanding the immediate withdrawal of Tantita Security Services from all Itsekiri homelands and territories, collectively known as Iwere Land.

In a strongly worded statement, the convener of the group Comrade Tsaye Mene stated that the group had raised deep-seated security and existential concerns over the multi-billion Dollar pipeline surveillance contract awarded to the firm, which is heavily associated with former Niger Delta militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.

The crux of the group’s protest lies in long-standing ethnic dynamics and historical grievances within Delta State. The Convener Warri Reclamation Thrust is demanding that outsourcing the protection of vital national oil infrastructure within Itsekiri territory to an entity led by individuals they view as historic adversaries poses an unacceptable risk to their communities.

 The statement explicitly stated that they had warned that empowering Tompolo, alongside his close associates Matthew Tonlagha and Keston Pondi  with massive federal funding and state security details creates a dangerous imbalance of power. The group alleges that these resources have inadvertently weaponized regional rivals against Itsekiri towns, going so far as to describe the current arrangement as a precursor to potential communal conflict and programmed genocide against the Itsekiri aboriginals which shall be fully Resisted.

"Our position before now has always been that security and protection of oil installations in Iwere land should not be entrusted to parties we consider adversarial to our people," the statement reads. "Placing such responsibility in the hands of those we view as historic opponents creates an unacceptable risk to our communities and assets."

The Demand for Decentralized Surveillance
 Rather than relying on a centralized, external security apparatus, the group is advocating for a localized approach to asset protection, popularized by the slogan: "Guard your pipeline, and we will guard our pipeline."

The Warri Reclamation Thrust Convener  maintains that Itsekiri youths and local security outfits are fully capable of policing the oil pipelines within their own ancestral borders. They argue that localizing these contracts would not only ensure more effective security but would also provide much-needed economic empowerment directly to the host communities, rather than fueling external monopolies especially with unrepentant militants who have always proven to be an economic saboteur and well known adversary.

In an Ultimatum to Abuja, 
 The group has placed the blame for any impending fallout squarely at the feet of the Federal Government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, and state security agencies. They contend that the state was well-aware of the region’s delicate ethnic fault lines before empowering Tantita Security Service in Iwere homeland even after Tompolo's Kins Man who is also an Ex militant Michael Jonny had openly accuse Tompolo of being behind the Niger Delta Avengers after accepting Amnesty making an unrepentant militant.

 The Convener Warri Reclamation Thrust  has put forward two non-negotiable demands to the Nigerian Government and it's Security Agencies:

 The immediate withdrawal of Tantita Security Services from all Itsekiri homelands.

 The immediate stripping and withdrawal of government-assigned security details protecting Tompolo, Mattew Tonlagha, Keston Pondi, and their cohorts to stop them from leveraging on their security access. 

The statement concludes with a stark warning to the authorities: should the Federal Government fail to heed this call and any security breach or communal clash occur as a result, the Nigerian government will be held directly accountable for the consequences.

As of the time of reporting, neither the NNPC nor the management of Tantita Security Services has issued an official response to the group's demands.

 However, the development underscores the complex challenge Abuja faces in balancing national economic interests, pipeline security, and volatile grassroots geopolitics in the Niger Delta.

If the Federal Government would continue to allow Tompolo Tantita to continue to use their surveillance contracts leverage to shut down installation and areas, we the Itsekiris would also copy same

Signed 

Comr. Mrs. Tsaye Edeyibo Mene 
Convener Warri Reclamation Thrust 

Comr. Misan Momorin 
Secretary 
Warri Reclamation Thrust

×