The Niger Delta Concerned Stakeholders for Accountable Security and Progress have dismissed rumors that TANTITA Security Services is using surveillance drones to inflame ethnic conflict. Instead, they assert these aerial tools are essential for identifying illegal oil bunkering and protecting national infrastructure.
Representing the group, Enisuo Oruomoni emphasized that these operations are fully sanctioned by the federal government and integrated into state security protocols. He noted that criminal syndicates have shifted their methods as real-time drone imagery began exposing illicit refineries and vessels. According to Oruomoni, the technology operates without ethnic bias, focusing strictly on detecting economic sabotage rather than targeting specific communities.
The group highlighted that thousands of local youths from diverse ethnic backgrounds are employed within the surveillance program, proving it is a source of employment rather than a threat. They warned that attempts to halt or decentralize drone operations mirror a request to disable security cameras during an active robbery. The stakeholders urged the National Security Adviser and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to maintain flight regulations while inviting the NNPCL and the Navy to expand the scope of coverage to offshore terminals where large-scale theft occurs.