BY FUND FOR PEACE AND PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES IN THE NIGER DELTA (PIND)

The current tensions in Delta state between the Ijaw, Urhobo and Itsekiri communities can be traced back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, during the period marked by the Warri Crisis. During that time, disputes over land, natural resource revenues, and political representation led to widespread violence and the alleged deaths of hundreds. A tenuous peace has held since 2004, and although there were sporadic outbreaks of tension and violence between the ethnic groups for the next decade, particularly in 2013, it was deescalated before it reached a crisis point. As of early 2014, however, with the drop in global commodity prices and mounting pressures related to the economy, land ownership, elections, and the future of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, the risk is becoming more acute.