Follow Us on Google
From Ben Dunno, Warri
Ex-militant warlord, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, Aka Tompolo, has decried the continued occupation of his assets, including a business concern, Mieka Dive Ltd, by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in Warri, Delta state.
He therefore appealed to the federal government to prevail on EFCC to vacate his property, following the absorption of all criminal charges levelled against him by the anti graft agency in a judgement delivered on July 15, 2020 by a Federal High Court.
Lamenting the losses incurred during the five (5) years of his malicious prosecution by the Commission in a statement delivered yesterday during a peaceful protest by the workers of Mieka Dive Ltd, at its Edjeba yard in Warri South Council Area, Tompolo noted he deserves unhindered access to his property and assets.
According to him; “After nearly five years of malicious prosecution by the EFCC and its henchmen on trumped up allegations, i was vindicated by God and the prayers of all our well-wishers in the Niger Delta and all over the nation”.
“On the 15th of July 2020, the law vindicated me and the Federal High Court threw out all the charges against me, that i have no case to answer. Since then i have made several efforts to reach the government agancies, particularly the EFCC to return my looted property back to me”.
He further stated that; “It is not an irony that today while i am free of all allegations levelled against me, the man who framed me up on corruption allegations and wantonly looted my property is presently disgraced for corruption while i am vindicated”.
“Let Nigerians note that today, more than 5 months after the court vindicated me by quashing all charges of corruption levelled against me, the Nigerian state through the EFCC has refused to return my property unlawfully taken from me under those charges”.
Other News
“Not one of those charges is still standing, yet the EFCC has refused to do the right thing. Our peaceful protest today is to raise a cry against this injustice in our land”, he stated.
On his part, the Managing Director of Mieka Dive Ltd, Chief Kestin Pondi, queried the rationale behind the continued seizure of the company premises by EGCC when a competent court of jurisdiction had declared Tompolo free of all the charges levelled against him.
He noted that over the period of five years the premises had remained shut down, a greater percentage of the high duty equipment and facilities running into billions of naira, kept in the yard had been looted by people, including security agents guarding it.
He made reference to the naval officers deployed to guard the premises who was caught in the act of looting some equipment from the yard three (3) years ago and had to be court marshalled by the Naval authority in Warri araa that period.
While also recounting the ordeals of the over 500 staff of the company who had been jobless since the frame up trial started, Pondi, stated that the hardship these workers had been subjected would have been averted if the company had been runinng all these years.
He called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency direct EFCC operatives to leave the premises, inorder for the management to see how they can resume operations in the yard so as to start the process of re-absolving the workers.
The placard carrying protesters, mostly youths who are workers in the yard were seeing chatting “Open Our Yard For Us”, stating that they are tired of being jobless for such a very long time and they have been made to starve with their families.
