Oil and Militancy in Nigeria’s Niger Delta

Abstract

The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria is faced with prevalent cases of insecurity as a result of marginalization. The region is facing several health challenges orchestrated by oil exploration, and there is no meaningful compensation to commensurate with these devastating situation. This study was conducted to examine the cause of militancy in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Militancy in the Niger Delta has reached a seemingly high level, which has contributed to the crumbling economy of Nigeria and insecurity in the region as there are series of attacks on oil facilities which have reduced the barrel production of crude oil per day in the region. This has posed an imminent threat with the ongoing recession in the country. This study however adopts survey method and through empirical means tries to find out the cause of militancy in the region. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the purpose of clarity and specifically in the study. Two hundred and fifty (250) copies of questionnaire were administered to the respondents that were selected using multiple sampling techniques; these include purposive, snowball and random sampling techniques. Secondary data were extracted from journals, textbooks, newspapers, and internet materials. Primary data were collected through structured and unstructured interviews. The study recommends that due compensation should be paid to the host region. Development projects should be assigned to the region to reduce environmental hazards.