...As Pipeline Surveillance Meant for Host Communities Diverted to Outsiders  

A whistleblower identifying himself as Fejiro Oliver has leveled explosive accusations against former NNPC executive Bala Wunti, businessman Matthew Tolangha and the Tantita family, alleging a long-running scheme to divert pipeline-surveillance contracts and Niger Delta funds to a narrow circle of insiders.

According to Oliver’s account, the surveillance contracts that are nominally intended to protect pipelines and benefit local host communities have been systematically “cornered” by a network centered on the former NUIMS (formerly NAPIMS) boss, Bala Wunti, working in concert with Tolangha and relatives associated with the Tantita name. The whistleblower asserts these contracts — often justified as community surveillance work — have instead become vehicles for large, off‑books enrichment for a few individuals, including non‑Niger Deltans who allegedly receive repeated, substantial payments.

Key allegations Oliver sets out:

- Bala Wunti is named as a central conduit for NNPC money and the architect of the alleged diversion of surveillance funds.

- Matthew Tolangha’s company reportedly holds a $6 billion pipeline‑construction contract, and Oliver claims an initial $900 million cash payment was made when the award was issued more than two years ago. Oliver says further payments followed, but that the awards and disbursements received little or no media scrutiny.

- EFCC reportedly arrested a woman identified as one of Wunti’s girlfriends and found $48 million in her account; Oliver alleges the case was quietly buried. He asks rhetorically whether those funds were sourced from the same surveillance arrangements.

- Surveillance contracts intended to be held by host communities, which Oliver says should be low‑entry jobs open to local residents, were instead funneled to companies and individuals who then distribute token monthly sums (described as “peanuts”) to many local defenders of the arrangements.

- The Tantita family is accused of opportunistic political maneuvering — opposing the president in 2023 and later aligning with the current administration while deploying resources (including U.S. lobbying) to curry influence. Oliver claims some of those efforts backfired in Washington, D.C.

- Prominent private interests including, the whistleblower claims, Heirs Holdings/Tony Elumelu, are implicated as participants in the payment mechanisms for surveillance contracts; Oliver says documents exist to explain the payment flows.

Oliver frames Matthew Tolangha as the “evil genius” behind the expansion and capture of surveillance revenues — not a militant or a community fighter — and calls for outright cancellation of pipeline surveillance contracts, arguing the initiative was never the core of Niger Delta agitation, which he says sought development rather than enrichment of a few.

The whistleblower warns that those publicly defending the contracts are likely beneficiaries, receiving monthly payments insufficient to live on but enough to keep them silent. He urges that if Niger Delta wealth does not circulate fairly, it should be blocked from flowing to the same channels.

The allegations are serious and, if substantiated, would amount to high‑level corruption and abuse of funds intended for community protection and regional development. They involve named persons and large sums, and raise questions about contract awards, transparency, and accountability within the relevant NNPC/NUIMS structures and private contractors.

At present these claims are presented by the whistleblower and have not been independently verified in this report. They call for formal investigation by relevant anti‑corruption and oversight agencies, full forensic audit of contract awards and payments, and public disclosure of evidence cited by Oliver — including the asserted EFCC case file, banking records, and contract documents he references.

Fejiro Oliver’s closing demand is unambiguous: cancel the pipeline surveillance contracts and ensure Niger Delta wealth benefits the region rather than a narrow set of insiders. He says the agitation for resource control never envisioned surveillance as a vehicle for enrichment, and promises continued campaign to expose and halt the alleged payoffs.

Authorities, contract holders and those named in these allegations should be given an opportunity to respond; journalists and investigators will need access to the documentary evidence Oliver cites to corroborate or refute these claims.