Nigeria's MEND: Connecting the Dots

To download a PDF of this piece click here. Since 2006, a little-known militant group in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta has made life difficult for international oil companies in the region. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has attacked oil-field infrastructure, kidnapped foreign workers and stolen oil and sold it on the black market. Enriching itself and others in the process — and contrary to the image it tries to convey — the group is not exactly a band of freedom fighters. An in-depth STRATFOR investigation has revealed ties to the Nigerian political establishment and a lineage that begins with the end of military rule in 1999. Editor's Note: This is the first part of a three-part series on the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.