Comparing Boko Haram and Niger Delta Militants
Since 2003, Nigeria has been experiencing armed insurgencies across the countries. In the south of the country, militants provoked by disparities in oil appropriation and distribution, the unremiting ecological destruction of the Niger Delta region by oil production, and opportunities available to profit clandestinely from the illegal market for crude, have waged unrelenting war against Nigerian security forces. Although, the introduction of the Niger Delta Amnesty Program appeared to reduce the conflict, daily attacks of oil installations resulting in losses of 400,000 barrels of crude per day suggests that the war is far from over. In the core north, Boko Haram has waged war against Nigeria's security forces since 2009. Its activities have led to the death of over 14,000 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Because of the combined effects of both insurgent groups on the Nigeria socio-political space, it is important to compare both groups to see if there are continuities and discontinuities in their objectives and operations as a way to anticipate and evolve interventions to stop the bloodshed.