Insecurity in the Niger Delta: A Report on Emerging Threats in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers States

Insecurity in the Niger Delta: Emerging Threats in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers States is a European Union- funded in-depth study of the issue of insecurity in the Niger Delta, the oil producing region of Nigeria. Security in the region is usually assessed from the context of the absence of threats to the oil industry. This study goes beyond that limited view, using case studies drawn from the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone to show emerging security threats in the region and the complex network of factors behind them. The chapters address issues of insecurity such as youth gangs/cults, sea piracy and sea robbery, election violence, communal conflicts, land disputes, chieftaincy tussles, armed robbery, human trafficking, internal population displacement (IDPs), reintegration of ex-militants, youth unemployment, internet fraud, police brutality, environmental pollution, farmer-herder crises and influx of non-indigenes. The authors critically discuss the different strategies adopted by state governments and communities in the region to address insecurity and explain why these approaches have so far failed to resolve the problem in the region. The study recommends policy options that could improve the security situation for everyday people living and working in Nigeria's Niger Delta region.

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Tarila Marclint Ebiede is a Political Scientist with expertise on peacebuilding, political violence and armed insurgencies. He was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Research on Peace and Development, KU Leuven, Belgium, where he earned a Ph.D. in Social Sciences.

Celestine Oyom Bassey is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Calabar. He was Director of Studies at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies from 2015 to 2019. He obtained his Ph.D. in International Relations and Strategic Studies from Dalhousie University, Canada. He has more than 30 years' experience conducting research and teaching in the field of security and strategic studies.

Judith Burdin Asuni founded Academic Associates PeaceWorks, the first Nigerian non-governmental organization working in conflict management, in 1992. She is the co-facilitator of the Niger Delta Dialogue, founded in 2016 as a safe space for discussion and analysis of issues concerning the Niger Delta. She obtained her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. She has more than 40 years of socially conscious work experience.