Niger Delta Ceasefire Announced and Denounced by Militants
With the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) today announcing a ceasefire, a possible end to the violent attacks against Nigerian oil infrastructure, it was looking increasingly likely that a diplomatic solution to tensions may have been possible, however as the NDA announced a ceasefire, another rebel group called The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has warned the Federal Government to ignore the promise of a ceasefire.
In a message posted on the Niger Delta Avengers’ (NDA) website late on Saturday, the group said it would “observe a cessation of hostilities,” so long as the country’s ruling party stops what it called harassment of innocent civilians.
It said it would support efforts to negotiate with “the federal government of Nigeria, representatives from the home countries of all multinational oil corporations and neutral international mediators.”
There have been unconfirmed reports for several weeks of talks underway with Abuja, and the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has invited rebels to discussions several times.
But the NDA never publicly acknowledged that it was engaged in negotiations, or that it would support efforts by community figures from the area.
The NDA said it would honour its ceasefire pledge “unless the ruling political APC (All Progressives Congress party) continues … to arrest, intimidate, invade and harass innocent citizens and invade especially Ijaw communities.”
Otherwise it warned: “We promise to fight more for the Niger Delta, if this opportunity fails.”
The Ijaw ethnic people of Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa states have long dominated oil rebel groups operating in the area, although experts say militants from other communities have also set up new branches.
In a country with so many rebel groups and factions, each with their own set of demands, it seems like a negotiation that satisfies all sides is unlikely if not impossible and it leaves the likelihood of an amicable solution being sought for the situation in the Niger Delta very low.
