- As Court grants ex-NIMASA boss, Omatseye N500,000 bail
Former Niger-Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, may have fled the country, into Libya.
The disclosure which was made on Monday by the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, JNDLF, in a statement, may also have brought Nigeria to a cross road, as the President, Muhammadu Buhari takes health leave to cater for an ear issue overseas; Tompolo, a known figure hides in Libya, while Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as the Commander in Chief, coordinates the activities of the Nigerian Army, and their gun boats, war ships and fighter bombers against nondescript, unknown Niger Delta Avengers, currently destroying pipelines and putting paid to the nation’s efforts at exporting crude petroleum oil.
Mr. Temisan Omatseye
General Akotebe Darikoro, Commander, General Duties; General Torunanaowei Latei, Creeks Network Coordinator; General Agbakakuro Owei-Tauro, Pipelines Bleeding Expert and General Pulokiri Ebiladei, Intelligence Bureau of JNDLF, claimed that while the Nigerian security forces failed to locate him, they had succeeded in trailing his whereabouts to Libya.
“Presently, Tompolo is in Libya and we’ll get him dead or alive for betraying us in supporting the Federal Government against us.
“Nigerian military has weak intelligence gathering mechanism hence they could not identify our modus oparandi. Nigerian military is only good in carrying AK47 to harass innocent people and raping young girls and women”, indicated the statement, leaving Nigerian masses the freedom to evaluate how long it would take the authorities to tackle and rein in, unknown youths, some of which may be miscreants, destroying the nation’s economic lifeline.
Investigation into how the former Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi mismanaged the Agency’s funds brought Tompolo into trouble, culminating in his being declared wanted, following his being linked to several missing billions, ranging from N12bn to a N34bn.
“Looks like we are actually getting farther and further away from getting a tangible solution to the Niger Delta crisis”, a Maritime industry watcher who pleaded anonymity highlighted, noting that up till now, the Avengers were yet to come up with any identifiable leader, with whom Government can deliberate.
In the meantime, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, granted N500,000 bail to former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Raymond Omatseye, who was convicted on charges of contract splitting.
Trial judge, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia granted the convict bail pending the hearing and determination of his appeal at the Court of Appeal, Lagos.
Ruling on the bail application by Omatseye, pending appeal, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia said: “I have looked at the processes filed by appellant but I have a discretion which must be exercised judicially.
“In the applicants affidavit, he deposed to the fact that his child suffers from a severe medical condition, which is an uncontrollable epileptic seizure which has put the family under serious strain. I will admit the appellant to bail on the single ground of my being a mother.
“Even a mad woman will come after you if you toil with her child. The applicant is hereby admitted to bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties each in like sum. One of the sureties must be a level 16 officer in the civil service who must deposit his international passport with the court’s registry,” she held.
Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia had on May 20, sentenced Omatseye to a prison term of five years for awarding contracts above threshold while in office.
The judge had found Omatseye guilty of 24 out of the 27 counts preferred against him. The court, discharged and acquitted him in 3 out of the 27 counts bordering on bid rigging. Ajumogobia found Omatseye guilty of the offence of awarding contracts above stipulated threshold, and accordingly convicted him on counts 1 to 20,24,25,26, and 27.
She, however, discharged and acquitted him on counts 21, 22 and 23 of the charge. In challenging the verdict, Omatseye had prayed the court to grant him bail pending the determination of his appeal lodged at the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos.
According to him, given the number of years it takes to prosecute appeals, it is likely that he could have finished serving the prison term by the time the appeal is determined.
Besides, Omatseye had said he is a father of four children, one of whom is very ill and suffers from “severe medical conditions of epilepsy.” He had told the court that his wife stays full time in London with the sick child, to enable him get proper medical attention. Omatseye had averred that he would not run away if granted bail.
Additional report from Vanguard
