Niger Delta Avengers

Niger Delta Avengers
LeadersMoudoch Agbinibo
Dates of operationJanuary 2016 – present
HeadquartersDelta State (allegedly)
Active regionsNiger Delta
IdeologyRegionalism
AlliesRed Egbesu Water Lions
Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force
Niger Delta Red Square
Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate[citation needed] IPOB/ESN
Opponents Nigeria
Battles and warsConflict in the Niger Delta Insurgency in Eastern Nigeria
WebsiteOfficial website

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is a militant group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.[1] The group publicly announced their existence in March 2016.[2]

The NDA is known for attacking oil-producing facilities in the deltas, causing the shutdown of oil terminals and a fall in Nigeria's oil production to its lowest level in twenty years.[2] The attacks caused Nigeria to fall behind Angola as Africa's largest oil producer.[3] The reduced oil output has hampered the Nigerian economy and destroyed its budget,[4] since Nigeria depends on the oil industry for nearly all its government revenues.[5]

The NDA's stated that their aims are to create a sovereign state in the Niger Delta and have threatened to disrupt Nigeria's economy if their aims are not met. The NDA claims its members are "young, educated, well travelled...and educated in east Europe". The group criticised the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, for having never visited the delta and his detention of the Biafran independence activist Nnamdi Kanu.[2][6]

  1. ^ "18 new armed groups spring up in Nigeria". Premium Times Nigeria. 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  2. ^ a b c "Nigeria arrests 'Avengers' oil militants". BBC News Online. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  3. ^ Elena Holodny (16 May 2016). "Africa's largest oil producer has been dethroned". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  4. ^ "The Niger Delta Avengers: Danegeld in the Delta". The Economist. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Avengers unite! Violence in the Delta has cut oil output by a third. It may get even worse". The Economist. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  6. ^ Joel, Motunrayo. "Biafran independence movement leader Nnamdi Kanu arrested – not 'fake news'". Africa Check. Retrieved 2021-09-10.