In a shocking move, the Norwegian
government has sold a fleet of its
decommissioned, but still sophisticated,
battleships and combat boats to a former
Niger Delta militant leader, Government
Ekpemupolo, who for years led a devastating
insurgency against the Nigerian government
in the oil-rich region, a Norwegian newspaper
reported Saturday.
As a leader of the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Mr.
Ekpemupolo, well known as Tompolo,
confronted the Nigerian military, killing many
and disrupting oil and gas production.
An amnesty deal announced by the Nigerian
government, by former President Umaru
Yar’adua, in 2009, ended the fighting.
Tompolo has since emerged a close ally of
President Goodluck Jonathan’s government,
winning luceative government contracts and
becoming very rich.
But after giving up fighting, surrendering his
arms, and leading his men to hand over their
weapons, Dagbladet, the Norwegian
newspaper, said Tompolo in 2012 received at
least six decommissioned Norwegian
battleships.
Among them were six fast-speed Hauk-class
guided missile boats, now re-armed with new
weapons.
The most recent hardware, according to the
report, is the KNM Horten, a fast-attack craft
now allegedly used for anti-piracy patrol in
the Nigerian waters.
The report said the deal was implemented
through a shell maritime Security Company
based in the United Kingdom, CAS Global.
CAS Global was used to evade a requirement
by Norway that arms dealers obtain export
license from their country’s foreign affairs
ministry, the report adds.
CAS Global has such licence.
The company, which has an office in Nigeria,
could not be reached on Saturday. Calls to its
general manager, were unsuccessful.
On its website, the company says, among
other functions, that it is a risk management
company with an international reach.
“We have significant skill sets and personnel
in two key operational disciplines.
Within the
Maritime Industry, we specialise in offshore
support vessels & personnel, mainly, but not
exclusively, for oil and gas multinationals. We
also work with multi-national shipping
companies and consortiums to provide vessel
escort services in high risk areas,” the
company says.
Mr. Ekpemupolo runs Global West Vessel
Service, which handles maritime security
issues for the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.
The maritime security issues are essentially
anti-piracy, although Tompolo’s firm itself is
also accused of piracy.
The newspaper’s report that Norway sold such
military hardware to an individual with a
history of violence, has angered the country’s
lawmakers who are pressing for explanations.
According to Dagbladet, the government has
defended the transaction.
The head of communications at the
Norwegian State Department Frode Andersen,
was quoted by the paper as saying that “As
far as we can see, the export of KNM Horten
has followed correct procedure and terms of
export to Great Britain. The re-export from
Great Britain to Nigeria is a question to be
handled solely by British export control
authorities.”
The Nigerian military could not be reached
for comments too.
Since the Niger Delta militancy era ended in
2009, Mr. Ekpemupolo hit the headlines again
recently after allegedly ordering the arrest
and beating of journalists in Delta State.
No comments: