The Niger Delta Vigilante (

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

NDV) is an armed militia group in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

region of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The NDV is led by

Ateke Tom Ateke Tom is a traditional ruler and the first Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, who was the former leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante, an ethnic Ijaw militia in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In August 2007, following days of gun fights betw ...

. The group is composed primarily by ethnic

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people *Ijaw languages The Izon languages (), otherwise known as the Ịjọ languages, are the languages spoken by the Izon people in southern Nigeria. Classification The Ijo languages were traditionally considered a ...

s from in and around Port Harcourt and their main goal is controlling the area's vast

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

resources. In late 2003 the NDV precipitated a conflict with their rival Ijaw ethnic militia, the

Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF) is one of the largest armed groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and is composed primarily of members of the region's largest ethnic group—the Ijaw people. The group was founded in 2004 in ...

(NDPVF). The two groups spent most of 2004 in an escalating

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

which was ended when the Nigerian government and military eventually intervened on the side of the NDV in summer of 2004. The government's support of the NDV would eventually precipitate the

Nigerian oil crisis The current conflict in the Niger Delta first arose in the early 1990s over tensions between foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who feel they are being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ija ...

, beginning in October 2004.

References

External links

Official website of The Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV)
(broken link) Petroleum industry in Nigeria Rebel groups in Nigeria Niger River Delta {{nigeria-org-stub

See also

References

External links