Nigeria's MEND: A Different Militant Movement

To download a PDF of this piece click here. An outgrowth of the Ijaw Youth Council's (IYC) militant wing, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) first emerged in December 2005 when it took credit for blowing up an oil pipeline in Delta state. It is not clear who activated the group or coined its name, but it soon became clear that MEND was a useful tool for Ijaw Chief Edwin Clark in containing his arch rival, Rivers Gov. Peter Odili. By early 2006, as Nigeria geared up for its third round of elections in 2007, a different kind of militant group was waging war in the Delta. Editor's Note: This is the third part of a three-part series on the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.