The Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV)
Origins
The group has been called Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV) since 2003. Before 2003, it has been known by various names, including the Germans, German 2000, Icelanders, and Okrika Vigilante, which date back to 1998.
The NDV emerged in Okrika, a major town in Rivers state, during a general state of lawlessness provoked by criminal gang activity. The group won the support of the community after it was able to neutralize the local mafia and quickly gained prominence after locals saw the Nigerian police force's inability to maintain law and order.
Location / Main area of operation
The NDV operates primarily in Rivers State, Nigeria. Rivers State is one of the nine Nigerian states (total:36 states) which comprise the Niger Delta, located in southern Nigeria. The region's oil accounts for approximately 90 percent of the value of Nigeria's exports, but the Niger Delta remains one of Nigeria's least developed regions.
Objectives
Fighting in the nine oil-producing states in Nigeria is motivated by the ongoing struggle for the control of oil wealth. It has also been triggered by people’s anger over the environmental degradation and high levels of unemployment that have surfaced since oil exploitation began in 1956. The areas of conflict include Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers state where the armed attacks intensified in 2003 when the NDV and associated groups started fighting over the control of territory and oil bunkering (stealing of crude oil). In an interview with Al Jazeera in 2007, Tom Ateke, leader of the NDV, claims to be neither a criminal, nor a militant, but a Niger Delta freedom fighter." He also said that the state has continually betrayed Ijaw aspirations by not fulfilling promises made to the people of the Niger Delta concerning new hospitals and increased personal freedoms. For this reason, Ateke pledged that he and his men would continue to fight to the last soldier. In an interview in January 2008, Mr. Pere, alleged spokesperson of the NDV, declared that all foreigners should quit the region if the government did not stop attacking the leaders of the NDV.
However, though Ateke states to follow an agenda for liberation and claims to protect the interests of the local communities, the Niger Delta region, many experts state that this conflict is, at the base, a rivalry over territory.
Number of Members
No data found.
Type : National
The activities of the group are geographically limited to the oil regions in Rivers State and therefore, the group is considered as national.
Conflict Status : Active
The NDV is currently active.
On 1 October 2004, in the meeting between officials of the Federal Government of Nigeria and leaders of the NVD in Abuja, NDV leaders agreed to disband their militias and to totally disarm. They also agreed to an immediate ceasefire. The government initiated the Arms-For-Cash Programme in order to clear at the profusion of weapons in the area.. Monetary rewards and general amnesty were granted to those who voluntarily returned their arms. However, the disarmament committee was accused of intentionally miscalculating the arms submitted by the NDV. Though Ateke had returned some arms, Dokubo-Asari – the leader of Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVP) - raised concern that the NDV leader was hoarding weapons. The peace deal ruptured on 3 November 2004, when Ateke's militias stormed Port Harcourt and killed Minabo Fiberesima, who was considered a member of the NDPVP.
Structure of the organization
The NDV is a large armed ethnic militia, led by Ateke Tom, who is described as a warlord. Its members are primarily disaffected young Ijaw men. Based on documented accounts of attacks, it is suggested that the urban gang has developed a terrorist infrastructure, logistics, and tactical capabilities.
According to some sources, the hierarchy of the group is as following: The leader of the group is called "Angel," "Strikers" are members of the gang who engage in the killing, targeting, and other criminal activities. The "Intells" are those who gather information. Girls in the group are referred to as "Black Bra." There is a team of hit men referred to as "executioners" that usually go on special operations that require selective or targeted attacks. Another category includes the band of fighters.
Leadership
Ateke Tom, from Okria, Rivers State, has been the leader of the NDV since its establishment. Although the Nigerian government discovered and attacked his hideouts in December 2007, he is still the main representative of the NDV.
External aid/Third party involvement
Some sources report that the former Secretary of State and Federal Transport minister, Abiye Sekibo, granted political protection to Ateke as far back as 2001 on the understanding that the NDV would render coercive services - such as intimidating political opponents - during the 2003 elections. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ateke said his group was responsible for vote-rigging and death squads. Odili allegedly backed the NDV during the fighting in 2003–04
A number of smaller groups of armed youth have joined the NDV. They are referred to as ‘cults’ and ‘vigilante groups’ and consist of individuals dedicated to providing security and economic opportunities for each other and their respective communities. They subscribe to an oath of allegiance and secrecy and rely mostly on violent means to achieve their ends.
The NDV exchanges illegal bunkered oil for stolen weapons. Weapons are also captured or seized from local stocks or bought from corrupt individuals. These include arms captured from (or sold by) the Nigeria Mobile Police and Nigerian army personnel; those captured or bought from Cameroonian soldiers stationed in the Bakassi peninsula (whose jurisdiction is disputed between Nigeria and Cameroon); and those purchased from ex-Nigerian soldiers also deployed to the same region. Additionally, the NDV purchases weapons from the Nigerian underground industry of small arms manufacturing.
External effects of the NSAG's armed activities
On 9 January 2007 the Finance Minister, Nenadi Usman, told reporters that oil production had dropped by as much as 600,000 barrels per day in the previous year, resulting in a $4.4 billion loss in oil revenue. A significant amount of the hostility in Rivers State, leading to the losses in oil revenue, has been associated with the NDV.
The NDV’s involvement in illegal oil bunkering has led to a significant number of casualties due to the damage inflicted on the pipelines after stealing oil. When the oil thieves have left the scene, members of the public often tap the pipe themselves and take their own share of oil. This is a very dangerous practice and explosions are common. More than 2,000 people have been killed in such explosions in the Niger Delta since 1998.
Funding
Most of the funding for the NDV is realized from large scale oil thefts (bunkering) via barges and flow stations for the international markets.
Ateke is also receiving financial benefits as an exchange for political repression. The NDV received logistical support and protection from prominent local politicians of the People’s Democratic Party in return for his assistance in countering the efforts of the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) during the 2003 state and federal elections. Some observers contend that members of Peter Odili’s Rivers State government and opposing political parties alike financed and armed group members. In Okrika, former State Government secretary, Dr Abiye Sekibo, allegedly supported Ateke’s NDV in an attempt to counter the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party’s influence (ANPP) during the 2003 state and federal elections. (See above information in "External Aid/Third Party Involvement" section) State government officials have vehemently denied their sponsorship of these groups, but the activities of some officials have been documented by Human Rights Watch, Nigerian civil society groups, and journalists. Ateke himself acknowledged the role he played in the 2003 elections, telling Human Rights Watch that then-Governor Odili had promised cash and jobs in great quantities for himself and his ‘boys’ and that in return, “Any place Odili sent me, I conquer[ed] for him. I conquer[ed] everywhere.” Governor Odili has consistently denied any relationship with Ateke, Asari, or any other group leader.
Another source of income for the NDV is kidnapping of foreign oil workers. After kidnapping the individuals, the group issues a list of requests, normally involving large sums of cash and other luxuries, while demanding for the immediate release of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and the most famous oil militant of all, Mujahid Dokubo Asari.
Additional source of revenue is sea piracy.
Relationship with the international community
Books
Articles and Chapters
Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations
Governmental reports
Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations
Press Information (in chronological order)
Interviews
Internet resources
Statements of the armed group
Agreements involving armed groups