Nigeria's MEND Retracts its Threat

Nigerian militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Jan. 19 retracted a threat it had issued the previous day to attack the country's downstream energy sector. This series of events is evidence of internal disarray in the group, showing that while some MEND sympathizers want to draw attention to their complaints — specifically the jailing of leader Henry Okah and his brother, Charles — the group's political superiors are tightly controlling its activities, making it not a significant threat to the region's oil infrastructure.