Oil theft: Tompolo’s firm accuses EFCC of illegally detaining head of operations

Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of illegally detaining Warredi Enisuoh, its director of operations and technical.

The private security company, headed by Government Ekpemupolo, the ex-militant warlord better known as Tompolo, recently got awarded a pipeline surveillance contract worth N48 billion from the federal government.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the company alleged that efforts to secure the release of Enisuoh, who is being detained after he honoured an invitation by the EFCC, have proved abortive.

TSSNL said some powerful forces in the country were hiding behind operatives of the EFCC to use the commission to scuttle the intensified action against the theft of Nigeria’s oil resources.

It also said the EFCC’s invitation and Enisouh’s subsequent arrest came in the middle of an ongoing operation to uncover one of the biggest oil-stealing cartels in the country.

“Tantita has been in the news for the amazing progress being made in returning Nigeria to pride of place as the leading oil producer in Africa. However, as we speak, efforts are being made to strangulate Tantita’s operations,” the statement reads in part.

“On the 19th of January 2023, Tantita’s executive director operations and technical capt. Warredi Enisuoh, was invited by the EFCC and detained. He has been in EFCC custody since.

“All efforts to ensure his release has proved abortive, as the commission has insisted that unless he provides a list of names who were his intelligence sources he would not be released.

“The EFCC invitation came right in the middle of an ongoing operation to unravel one of the biggest oil-stealing cartels in this country.

“Capt. Warredi Enisuoh, our ED operations and technical flew straight from Port Harcourt (where he was coordinating the operations) to Lagos to heed the EFCC’s invitation and walked right into a trap.

“While Tantita is determined to carry on the fight against the oil thieves regardless, it is our position that the EFCC’s investigation, if genuine, can be carried out with minimal interference to the war on oil thieves and if not, it is clearly being used by powerful forces to scuttle the war on oil thieves. Let Nigerians be aware of what is being done in their name.”

Linking the director’s plight to an ongoing legal tussle between him and the EFCC, Tantita explained that Enisuoh had won three of four cases against the anti-graft agency.

It said Enisuoh got a judgment of the court of appeal, with suit No: CA/L/1320/2016, delivered on November 25, 2017 to access his bank accounts which were frozen by the EFCC.

TSSNL added that in September 2022, one month after Tantita began operations, the EFCC invited Enisuoh and asked him how he gained access to the accounts.

It further alleged that the EFCC asked Enisuoh to provide the names of those who received money from the account, which he did not, as the persons concerned were “intelligence assets who provided valuable intelligence and need to be protected”.

Reacting to the allegations by Tantita, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesperson, told The Punch that he was not aware of Enisuoh’s arrest.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m unaware of such,” he was quoted as saying.