FULL NAME: Government Ekpemupolo
BETTER KNOWN AS : Tompolo
DATE OF BIRTH/AGE: Born 12th April 1971[ currently 46 years old]
NET WORTH: He is a Billionaire but his actual net worth is not available at this time
KNOWN TO BE A: MEND commander and Businessman
MARITAL STATUS: Married with kids
Government Ekpemupolo who is widely known “Tompolo” is an ex-militant , Billionaire businessman and commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. Brave Tompolo was granted amnesty in 2009 by president Yar’Adua and he discontinued the militant group he founded.
Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a “Tompolo” was a commander in various guerrilla groups in the Niger Delta for several years which fought against the insensitivity of the Federal Government and the international oil companies towards to exploitation and degradation of the Niger Delta. His wealth was mainly gotten from oil bunkering and other areas. He made up his mind to embraced amnesty on October 4th 2009, so that peace could reign in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. He did this because he wanted government and oil companies to carry out development projects so that there will be more job opportunity in the area.
Early Life, Background And Life
Tompolo was born in the year 1971 to a royal family Okerenoko in the traditional Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta State. Government Ekpemupolo completed his basic education at Okepopo Primary School in Warri. He was raised by his biological parents in their community , but his life took a sudden turn the moment he realised some of the unwarranted marginalisation of his community from the benefits accruing from oil exploration and production which was drilled from his own community. He completed his secondary school education in the year 1993 and became a member of a resistance group in the Niger Delta. He later joined e Ijaw Youth Council In the year 1998 when it was newly founded , and became a top member of the group. At some point, Tompolo noticed the progress that has been made by the Ijaw Youth Council Ekpemupolo and decided to identify with the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, where he quickly rose to the rank of a high commander, and being a wealthy man he was able to supply MEND with the resources needed to achieve their goal.
Tompolo was the person that always accompanied his father’s elder brother, the late “Papa Gbamido Ekpemupolo” as he went from one court to another, in Benin, Warri or Abuja, over cases between the Ijaw in Gbaramatu and the Itsekiri. He realised that if they don’t act fast and take what belongs them , it means that they will be forced to live in another mans house and pay rent forever which he can’t swallow. Tompolo and his men decided to take their lives in their hand as they stand and fight battle together without surrendering to the Itsekiri . That was how the battle between his people and Itsekiri brothers came noto play. This war later led to the relocation of the headquarters of Warri South-West Local Government Area from Ogbe-Ijoh to Ogidigben.
The war made a soldier and a leader out of Tompolo as he eventually became a brave soldier and head of forces. After some time the war finally came to an abrupt halt and he began receiving threats from the other side because he had already involved himself in a league bigger that what he actually thought. He was forced to move to Oporoza within the Gbaramutu kingdom because of the threats that was coming to him . On getting there, two developments emerged gave him excuses for his militancy and its underlying goal of mercantilism. He finally found something worth fighting for when he got there, he and his people started their violent agitation against the oil multinational, Shell. His anger was sparked by he oil spillages, general environmental degradation and non-development of the oil-producing areas by the companies involved in it. This was how everything started , how he gave himself into militancy fully.
His militancy act started in the 90s when he was the commander of thousands of militants and successfully attacking the insensitivity of the government and the Multinational oil companies to the exploitation and degradation of the peoples and environments of the Niger Delta. He became famous after successfully uniting his fellow group leaders from across the Niger Delta at Camp 5 to fight for a common cause and struggle by creating a platform that represent them. The initial purpose of setting up this platform was to use press for the release of Asari and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the former Bayelsa State governor, both of who were incarcerated by the federal government. This movement called MEND was formed as an umbrella organisation of all the militant groups but as an organ to issue unified, rather than discordant, statements for them. This group took responsibility for many attacks on oil installation and abdoption of several persons.
He created a place called “Camp 5”, Tompolo’s headquarters, this was the place he found the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND. Tompolo took responsibility of this group and boasted that, apart from Dokubo-Asari and Ateke Tom, every other militant general had his tutelage at Camp 5. According to findings Okah was the brains behind the e-mail and text messages to media establishments on MEND’s activities. MEND officially started it operation with the kidnapping of nine foreign staff – three Americans, two Egyptians, two Thais, one Briton and one Filipino – of Wilbros, an American oilfield services company based in Panama but with a major office and company executives in Houston. They initial focus was on Nigeria’s oil wealth but they broadened their goal after claiming responsibility for the Saturday 17 February 2006 kidnapping of foreign men.
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Tompolo was very close to JTF and reliable source of information to them. They always contact him for information that will lead to the apprehension of many notorious criminals. He later assisted them to catch pirates and kidnappers. Tompolo was said to have assisted the JTF, then under the command of Brig-General Elias Zamani to capture John Togo, a notorious sea pirate and his gang that included Perembowe Ebinimie, Felis Dissi and Peter Dolobowei. Tompolo was secretly employed by JTF and the Delta State government to assist them with useful information that will help in keeping safe the troubled waterways in the state. In other for peace to reign in the state, he was place under N100mn monthly salary on behalf of government to calm him and his boys down.
Within a short period of time, Tompolo had amassed so much wealth and influence in Niger Delta affairs to the extent that even powerful people now look up to him for help when they are short of idea. It was confirmed that his influence sustained his kinsman, Chief Wellington Okrika as Executive Chairman of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, for so long. He single-handedly enthroned Godwin Bebenimibo, a retired Superintendent of Police, as Gbaran III Agadagba, the traditional ruler of the Gbaramatu kingdom.
He was declared wanted in May 2009 by Brigadier-General Sarkin Yaki Bello, commander of the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, in Niger Delta, for the killing of 11 soldiers – one officer and 10 junior men. This was just one of their numerous casualties that happened during his time as a militant leader. The JTF was very committed to catching him. Bello’s men stormed the Okerenkoko, operations headquarters of Tompolo, desperately searching for him. They were not able to nab him after a thorough search but they recovered numerous rifles, machine guns, Uzzi guns, Army mistin carriers, dynamite and gun boats.
During the time of President Yar’Adua as the president of Nigeria, his administration embarked on implementing its Amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants. Tompolo was also patronized by the federal government and he accepted. His acceptance of the amnesty programme largely influenced other militant leaders to embrace peace. His embrace of the peace brought the platform MEND to an end as everyone of them went their separate ways to start a new life after cooperating with the federal government. During the Amnesty programme, more than 1,500 militants to surrender their weapons in Oporoza village. Tompolo was cheered on by hundreds of people wearing vests with the inscription Tompolo Is Our Hero, the militant surrendered a large cache of arms that included general purpose machine guns, rifles, rocket launchers, explosives and countless numbers of various ammunition.
That was how Tompolo became a hero and right hand man to the federal government of Nigeria. Regardless of his violent past and little education, he is tagged as one of the most influential Nigerian today. He was a close friend to former Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan. Government has invested the Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, GWVSL, a firm widely believed to be owned by Tompolo, with a contract worth $103.4 million (over N15 billion) to supply 20 vessels for the use of the nation’s military authorities to secure the waterways.
Some years ago, there was news everywhere about Government Oweizide aka Tompoloo acquiring an air craft. According to many reports online, it states that Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) purchased a LearJet 60SE produced by Canadian aerospace company Bombardier. The Jet according to aviation sources costs a whopping sum of $13.3 million (N2.12 billion).
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