Tension In Niger Delta As Militants Split

There is a split in decision making among Niger Delta militants as they are at loggerheads over the desire to negotiate and dialogue with the federal government. The militants have split as some groups are in support of the dialogue, while others have dismissed the negotiations.

The Niger Delta Avengers last Wednesday, through its twitter account, said it was not in support of dialogue and as such will not participate in negotiations with the federal government. Its tweet read: “This is to inform the general public that we are not negotiating with any committee. If the Federal Government is discussing with any group, they are doing that on their own.”

However, in an opposite move, the Joint Revolutionary Council, JRC, of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Front, JNDLF, said that militants will negotiate with government. The group said: “We shall continue to engage in dialogue with the Federal Government if our demands are met.

“Our representatives in the dialogue, especially the governors and others, will not betray our demands with the Federal Government. Any betrayal on their own part shall be viewed as betrayal of the entire region and we shall go after them immediately as they know our mode of operation in which they will not escape from us.”

It remains to be seen how this split in decision making will affect the activities of the respective groups in the Niger Delta region.