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Niger Delta youth leader accuses Warri Indigenous People Movement of bunkering and sabotage
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Says Tantita’s operations improved crude oil output and dismantled illegal oil camps
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Urges NSA Ribadu to declare WIPM protest organisers wanted over threat to national peace
A Niger Delta youth leader and oil and gas activist, Comrade Peter Ofoghan, has condemned the call by the Warri Indigenous People Movement (WIPM) for the cancellation of the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services Limited.
Her described the protest as a politically motivated conspiracy fuelled by criminal interests.
Ofoghan, popularly known as the Oracle of OML42 Field, said the WIPM protest and petition to the National Security Adviser were orchestrated by a group involved in illegal oil bunkering who are angry over Tantita’s destruction of their camps in the Warri River and Obodo axis.
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He accused WIPM of trying to blackmail the federal government after Tantita dismantled several of their crude oil theft networks.
He said, “As an oil and gas activist and former executive member of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, I can confirm that WIPM is a bunkering organisation that vowed to cripple Tantita Security Services Limited for destroying their illegal equipment and operations in Warri and Obodo.”
The Niger Delta advocate stated that oil producers, terminal operators, traditional rulers, and local youths have expressed deep appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for awarding the contract to Tantita, noting that the engagement has led to a significant improvement in oil output and protection of national infrastructure.
According to him, Nigeria was on the brink of economic disaster due to crude oil theft, vandalism of wellheads, and destruction of export pipelines until Tantita was engaged to take over critical security operations.
He said those behind WIPM were enemies of progress who are hiding under ethnic banners to sabotage national security efforts and the Tinubu administration.
Ofoghan noted that over 3,000 youths from the Itsekiri kingdom down to the Benin River have been actively engaged by Tantita in security operations, economic empowerment, and community development.
He said these efforts have brought peace, unity, and job opportunities to thousands of families in the region.
He maintained that oil and gas companies are now experiencing increased production due to the sharp reduction in vandalism and theft across their export lines.
He said the Trans Forcados Pipeline, which services fields like OML 30 and OML 42, has witnessed steady output and zero disruption since Tantita assumed surveillance responsibility.
He said, “Nobody or organisation was able to achieve this milestone before Tantita came in. Today, Nigeria’s daily crude oil production has risen to over two million barrels per day, thanks to bold individuals putting their lives on the line to protect national assets.”
He added that Tantita’s use of physical patrols, aerial surveillance, drone monitoring, and intelligence has made it impossible for oil thieves to operate freely, which is why WIPM and its backers are fighting back through blackmail and false petitions.
He warned that no firm has ever engaged grassroots stakeholders across all ethnic groups in the Niger Delta the way Tantita has done, ensuring that all communities feel included in protecting the region’s wealth.
He said Tantita’s social responsibility projects have empowered over four million families, saved lives through medical outreaches, and supported markets and women-led businesses across the region.
He accused WIPM of trying to destabilise the Niger Delta to revive illegal oil operations and fund political movements that want to reverse the progress made by the current administration. He said the group’s actions are dangerous to national peace and must be treated as sabotage.
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Ofoghan called on the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to declare the leaders of the protest and members of WIPM wanted, stressing that their continued activities will reignite violence and criminality in the region.
He said, “I trust the judgement of the NSA, who has always been known to stand against crime in any form. Declaring WIPM leaders wanted will send a strong message that the federal government will not tolerate enemies of progress masquerading as ethnic champions.”
He added that Tantita remains one of the most effective security initiatives ever undertaken in the oil sector and must be supported to continue safeguarding Nigeria’s economic future.
