The security agencies in the country have an uphill task. They have the responsibility of locating the whereabouts of ex-warlord, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo by February 19, when he is scheduled to appear before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
Justice Ibrahim Buba had ordered that Tompolo be produced before the court to answer for a 40-count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, in compliance with the bench warrant of arrest issued against Tompolo had vowed to apprehend him wherever he can be found and deployed men of the Bayelsa State Police Command to comb the state in search of the ex-MEND leader.
But the security agents will not be having the support of the people of Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, where Tompolo hails from, if the words of a traditional ruler in the area are to be believed.
According to Vanguard, a traditional ruler from Gbaramatu who spoke with the paper on condition of anonymity said nobody from the area would reveal Tompolo’s whereabouts even if they knew it.
He said: “No Gbaramatu man will reveal the hideout of Tompolo to any security man even if he knows, unless that person does not have a true Ijaw blood flowing in him.
“Tompolo is an institution, not only in Ijawland, but in the whole of Niger Delta. He has touched many lives and is the current symbol of the struggle.
“Therefore, it is not easy for any full-blooded Ijaw man to betray him. From what I can see, the whole thing is about business transaction, the Federal Government should settle the matter and let peace reign.”