Revealed: How Tompolo, John Togo Creek Conflict Almost Split the Niger Delta

The struggle for whom control the creeks of Niger Delta in the South South of Nigeria following the cold war between 2009 and 2010, a violent power struggle unfolded deep within the Niger Delta—one so fierce and secretive that few Nigerians ever grasped its scale.

Sources within the Niger Delta posited that it was a confrontation between two prominent militant commanders whose clash over money, ideology and control threatened to destabilize the entire region.

At the centre were Government Oweide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, and his former ally-turned-rival, General John Togo, born Prince Togunemi Amacuo. Both men hailed from Oporoza in Delta State.

Both once fought under the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). But when the Federal Government introduced the 2009 Amnesty Programme, their paths sharply diverged.

While Tompolo embraced the peace deal gaining influence, federal surveillance contracts and consolidating control over the creeks—John Togo denounced it as betrayal. He accused Tompolo of “selling the liberation struggle” for political access and government patronage.

As at late 2009, he broke away to form the Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), positioning himself as the face of continued armed resistance.

What followed was a shadow conflict that rattled communities across the Western Delta. Togo’s fighters launched the first strikes, targeting boats, camps and surveillance assets linked to Tompolo’s network. Retaliation came swiftly as loyalists aligned with Tompolo mounted counterattacks, carried out night raids and ambushed NDLF positions along hidden river routes.

Residents reported bodies drifting along waterways, abandoned settlements and weeks of fear as the two factions battled for supremacy.

John Togo escalated tensions with a series of video messages in which he openly challenged his former commander, accusing him of abandoning the cause. Such open defiance was unprecedented. Yet Togo’s charisma and reputation as a fearless fighter earned him a cult-like following among militants unwilling to embrace amnesty.

The violence intensified until the Joint Task Force (JTF) intervened in mid-2010. In a major coordinated assault—described by some insiders as a joint military operation with covert guidance from Tompolo’s network—Togo’s main camp was bombarded for hours. After the raid, the NDLF collapsed. John Togo was declared killed, though no body was ever publicly identified. His disappearance remains one of the Delta’s enduring mysteries.

With his rival eliminated, Tompolo’s influence rapidly expanded. Over the next decade, he rose to become one of the most powerful non-state actors in Nigeria, commanding extensive security contracts and maintaining unmatched control over vast water routes.

Today, in communities across the creeks, the conflict between Tompolo and John Togo survives mostly in whispered accounts—an episode that nearly fractured the Niger Delta from within. The lesson, residents say, remains unchanged: in the Delta’s volatile landscape, fighting Abuja may be survivable; confronting Tompolo rarely is.