Top 5 Demands by Niger Delta Avengers President Buhari Will Not Meet

Since President Muhammadu Buhari took over power in 2015, Nigeria has seen a resurgence of Niger Delta militancy and this has led series of bombings of oil and gas pipelines in the region. Nigeria had assumed that with the granting of amnesty to the Movement fir the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, militancy had been grounded but Buhari’s emergence as president has seen a deadlier resurgence. Without mincing words, it is fair to conclude that the renewed agitation and vandalism is targeted at President Buhari’s administration. The most notorious, Niger Delta Avengers has carried out systematic destruction of pipelines that indicates a well-coordinated, heavily-equipped and hugely financed group. Following the trail of the Avengers are other mushroom groups that have also issued threats and claimed responsibility for pipeline bombings too. Some of them include: Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, Adaka Boro Avengers, Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, Red Egbesu Water Lions, Niger Delta Vigilante and Oyobio-Oyobio. Niger Delta militants It is significant to know that their demands to President Buhari are different although a call for the development of the Niger Delta region seems to be a collective demand of the groups. With each militant group having its own self-styled General issuing threats and trying to outdo the other in demand and vandalism, President Buhari has a lot of requests to attend to. However, some of the demands from the militants my not be provided by the president. 1. Independence or breaking away from Nigeria The Adaka Boro Avengers

had earlier threatened that it would officially declare a Niger Delta Republic on August 1 but a day before it; the group cancelled its planned declaration and in its statement credited former president, Goodluck Jonathan for appealing to them not to go ahead with the secession. While this may be true to some extent, the move by the Nigerian military may be another factor. This is because heavy military presence was deployed to Bayelsa with the intention to repel any move that might be considered treasonable. While it may easy to blow up a pipeline in the dead of the night considering that most of these region had long networks of pipelines, it will be difficult to declare an independent republic as this will require physical presence and a need to carry-out administrative duties.