Government
Ekpemepulo, ex-militant leader better known as Tompolo, has advised President
Muhammadu Buhari to learn from the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua.
Tompolo, who had earlier
raised an alarm on the alleged seizure of the “golden crown” of Egbesu, an Ijaw
deity, said a similar incident under Yar’Adua led to hostilities, which made
the late president declare amnesty for militants.
He alleged that a manhunt
for him by the military led to a lot of atrocities in Gbaramatu kingdom.
“Today
is exactly 31 days after the invasion of the traditional headquarters of
Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oporoza town, by your military led by Brig. General Faruk
Yahaya of the 4thBrigade, Benin
City, in search of me, with the allegation that I am the one behind the bombing
and destruction of crude oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, and the
incident happened in my absence, but I was informed that the army was on the
loose, and committed so much abomination in the community,” he said in an open
letter.
“As I said in my previous
publications, the military made away with the symbol of Authority of the
Gbaramatu people from the Egbesu Shrine, [of] which I am the chief priest. They
also made away with other valuables, worth several millions of naira, from the
community.
“We are presently being
treated like conquered people because of crude oil. Mr President sir, please
permit me to quickly recall a similar incident that occurred in May, 2009, when
this same military invaded several communities in Gbaramatu kingdom, under the
command of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
“Traditional worship
centres were desecrated, property were looted and above all, the multi-billion
naira ultra-modern magnificent palace of the pere of Gbaramatu kingdom was
burned down, and his golden crown was stolen by the military.
“As peace-loving people,
the kingdom approached the courts and demanded compensation for the unlawful
invasion and destruction of property, in which the court awarded 99 billion
naira in favour of Gbaramatu kingdom. After seven years of that sad incident,
the Federal Government is yet to pay the compensation. This incident also led
to the declaration of the Presidential amnesty programme for peace to reign, as
the government find out that military action is not the best way to address the
Niger Delta question, and the rest become a history in the life of those who
led that invasion. I believe Mr President should learn a lesson from the 2009
military invasion and do the needful.”
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