BREAKING: Violence erupts as ex- militant warlord, Government Tompolo celebrates 46th birthday

Chief Government Ekpemupolo,
popularly known as Tompolo.
The lecture which held on Wednesday,
April 12, came to an abrupt end,
following a clash between factional
groups of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC).
Various Ijaw interest groups and some
of Tompolo’s associates had put the
lecture together to celebrate the life of
the former militant leader who went
into hiding since 2015 and invited
eminent personalities, including
renowned professor of English
Literature, Professor Godini Darah, to
discuss peace in the Niger Delta.
The Nation reports that the atmosphere
became charged when two leaders of the
two factions of the IYC; the Eric Omare
camp and the recently inaugurated
Peretubo Oweilami camp met at the
event. Omare, who arrived at the event,
had been seated with some of the
executive council members of his camp
before the leaders of the other faction
arrived.

BREAKING: Violence erupts as ex-militant
warlord, Government Tompolo celebrates 46th
birthday
The atmosphere turned violent when
members of the Omare faction, who
identified Oweilami and his entourage,
tried to prevent him from entering the
hall of the in Okuemi Hotels, Warri. The
clash escalated into a scuffle and later
the use of all manners of weapons,
including guns, axes and broken bottles.
The order inside the hall was disrupted
when some of the men involved in the
fracas gained access and started
charging at each other. The riotous
atmosphere, which had already scared
several guests, was later quelled after
about 40 minutes by the law
enforcement agents on guard duty.
Although there were no casualties as at
the time of filing this report, many of
the escaping guests, including
journalists and other participants,
reported loss of their personal effects
like mobile phones.

Reacting to the sad development,
factional president of the IYC, Eric
Omare, who said he was not sure the
disturbance was occasioned by
members of the Ijaw youth body, said
he would inquire to know what really
happened.
“I don’t have details of what transpired
minutes ago, but if they (the invaders)
happened to be IYC members, I apologise
for that, but I need to confirm if indeed
they were IYC members.
“If factional IYC members tried coming in
to disrupt an event to honour Tompolo,
it is condemnable because they ought to
know that Tompolo represents peace and
they ought to conduct themselves in
orderly manner,” he said.
It had been earlier reported that while
delivering his lecture titled “Niger Delta
Struggle and The Question of Ethnic
Identity” , prior to the disturbance,
Professor Darah noted that Tompolo
would go down in the history of the
Niger Delta struggle as a leading
emancipator, who did all he could to get
what belongs to his people for them
from oppressive powers.
There are calls made to the Federal
Government, demanding the dropping of all
charges against the ex-militant warlord,
Government Tompolo
“The Niger Delta is strategic to the
development and survival of the world
because it hosts very unique features and
resources. It’s time for us to embrace
and work together as one people. Niger
Delta will be like Dubai if the people
agreed to work together as one. After
nearly 60 years of petitions, conflicts and
warfare, there appears to be some
channels of opportunities for a peaceful
and just resolution of the Niger Delta
conflict.
“The emergence of the Pan Niger Delta
Forum (PANDEF) in August, 2016,
provided this channel of opportunity.
This is the first time in many decades
that different organizations and activists
from different ethnic groups in the Niger
Delta ever came together in a joint
platform to prosecute in the cause of the
region” , he said.
Also delivering a second lecture, Prof.
Harriman, an ardent supporter of
Tompolo said, “The fifth columnist is the
greatest challenge against the struggle.
If you are among those trying to
accentuate the oppression of the Niger
Delta people by those who steal their
wealth, desist from it. Tompolo is not a
militant. He does not need amnesty
anymore. The people accusing him are
the militant against Nigeria’s wheel of
progress.”