Community Conflicts and Armed Militancy in Nigeria’s Niger Delta: Change and Continuity?

Abstract

This article explores the complex relationship between communal conflicts and antistate armed militancy in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Based on fieldwork in rural communities, the research found that individuals who emerged as dominant actors as a result of their involvement in communal conflict were at the forefront of antistate militancy. The article highlights the role of antistate militancy in the Niger Delta in the emergence of new elites in local communities. It argues that antistate militants who became new elites in local communities are now being integrated into the network of Nigeria’s ruling class. Meanwhile, ordinary civilians that were not involved in antistate militancy continue to contest the dominance of these new elites in local communities. This situation tends to perpetuate community conflicts in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.