 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2009) |
| Niger Delta Vigilante | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Ateke Tom |
| Dates of operation | 2003–2009 |
| Headquarters | unknown |
| Active regions | Niger Delta |
| Ideology | Secession from Nigeria |
| Size | 4,000 |
| Opponents |  NigeriaMovement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force Joint Revolutionary Council |
| Battles and wars | Conflict in the Niger Delta |
The Niger Delta Vigilante (abbreviated NDV) is an armed militia group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The NDV is led by Ateke Tom. The group is composed primarily by ethnic Ijaws from in and around Port Harcourt and their main goal is controlling the area's vast oil resources.[1] In late 2003 the NDV precipitated a conflict with their rival Ijaw ethnic militia, the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF). The two groups spent most of 2004 in an escalating conflict which was ended when the Nigerian government and military eventually intervened on the side of the NDV in summer of 2004.[2] The government's support of the NDV would eventually precipitate the Nigerian oil crisis, beginning in October 2004.
- ^ Understanding the Armed Groups of the Niger Delta (PDF) (Report). Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Criminal Violence and Human Rights Abuses Against the Local Population in 2004". Human Rights Watch. January 2005. Archived from the original on June 15, 2023.