Nigeria: Negotiating With Militants

Two senior militant commanders from the Niger Delta region are in amnesty talks with the Nigerian government, a Nigerian government official said Sept. 1. Ateke Tom and Government Tompolo are the last militant leaders (save one) from the Niger Delta with whom the Nigerian government has yet to negotiate a deal. Reaching an agreement with the top militants in the Niger Delta does not mean that violence in the oil-producing region will end, but that the Nigerian government and the country's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) has laid the groundwork to win the 2011 national elections.