Niger Delta Militants Declare Ceasefire

Nigeria's main militant group has declared an indefinite ceasefire to allow for peace talks with the country’s federal government. 

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has said they believe the government is committed to a serious and meaningful dialogue that will address MEND’s its concerns.

Two months ago, hundreds of MEND fighters turned in their weapons at a ceremony in Yanagoa, a city in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region, after Nigeria’s President Umaru Yar’Adua offered an amnesty deal in early August.

The deal grants immunity from prosecution to any militant who renounces violence before October 4.

MEND has fought for the rights of the people of the oil-rich Niger Delta to a share of oil revenues - and against the destruction of the environment by the mining activities of foreign multinationals - since 2006.

Several key MEND leaders and thousands of gunmen have accepted President Yar’Adua’s amnesty and disarmed, a recent report has said.

It was reported this month that the federal government planned to the local population an extra 10 per cent of oil revenues.

Analysts have however said the Nigerian oil industry is still vulnerable to opportunistic attacks, crude theft and ransom kidnappings, meaning fresh attacks could emerge despite the MEND disarmaments.

President Yar’Adua has met with former MEND leaders over the past few weeks and emphasized his government’s commitment to ending the Niger delta conflict, which has cost Nigeria billions of dollars in lost revenues. [GR]