N34b Fraud: Why I’ve Not Gone To Court –Tompolo Writes Buhari
A former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo has explained why he has not appeared in court on the alleged N34 billion fraud, for which an order of arrest was issued on him.
Recall that on 14th January 2016, Tompolo, who was a leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), shunned the order of a Federal High Court in Lagos to unconditionally appear before it.
However, in an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, he said he has nothing to do with the matter in court. The letter, sent to newsmen on Sunday by his media aide, Comrade Paul Bebenimbo, blamed his (Tompolo) refusal to appear in court on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), its lawyer Festus Keyamo and some ex-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members.
Advertisement
Tompolo said: “The truth of the matter is that I do not know anything about the N34 billion Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is talking about. First, it was N13 billion issue, now it is N34 billion.
“I am not a signatory to any of the companies mentioned in the said N34 billion case, so I do not know where this one is coming from. “I know that God in His infinite mercy will see me through in this critical moment.”
Tompolo, therefore, urged President Buhari to be wary of some of his party members in the Niger Delta, particularly those who left the PDP for the APC.
He said: “They (APC members) are the ones carrying out the act to smear my name. They are doing this in connivance with the EFCC lawyer, who is also a member of your party, who is in the forefront of prosecuting me because I refused to buy a property from him.
Advertisement
“As for the EFCC lawyer, he approached me some years back that I should come to Abuja and Lagos to buy some choice property worth billions of naira from him. I told him that I do not have such money to buy property.
“Since then he has been looking for any opportunity to drag me into matters I do not know anything about. And this is one of the reasons why I have not appeared in the court because he is not qualified to prosecute me,” he added.
