ISSN 2360-7998
Abstract
Accepted 15th June, 2021
Although the history of the Niger delta conflicts dates back to 19th century when the Akassa raids, and other events created violent tensions across the creeks, the people of the Niger Delta since the first oil exploration in Oloibiri (1956), had struggled to assert their rights with regards to the massive exploitation and exploration of the natural resources in the region by various successive governments. The violent reactions or series of social movements between the year 2003 and 2009, forced the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to initiate an amnesty deal to help assuage the socio-economic plights of the people who had continually agitated against the exploitation of their people by both the FGN and various multinational corporations responsible for the recurring environmental degradation the region had been subjected to. Therefore, a point of departure for this study is to conduct a critical-retrospective examination of the Niger Delta Amnesty Deal of 2009 granted by the then President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua to various militant groups in the Niger Delta region as a way to quell recurring explosion of pipelines and oil facilities, as well as banditry and sporadic kidnappings. Using secondary-sourced evidence, the study argues that the Niger Delta question defied Amnesty Deal as between 2009 and 2019, many of the social and environmental issues persisted. More so, the amnesty Deal failed as conflict erupted after a brief hiatus, and violence has remained a conditio-sin-qua-non in attracting both government and the international community attention to the plight of the people of the Niger Delta region.
Keywords: Amnesty Deal, Conflict, Niger Delta, and Nigeria.