Nigeria

29 October 2007

Institutional mechanisms fail to address recurrent violence and displacement

IDP at Marrabaran
town, Bauchi state
(McGoldrick, 2005)

While violence often breaks out in Nigeria along religious or ethnic lines, poverty and unequal access to power and resources – be they land or oil wealth – often constitute the root causes of the conflict. The scope of these crises is often also shaped by social and environmental factors, and underlying tensions may have been encouraged by politicians seeking to gain from social divisions. Violence has increased since 2006 in the oil-rich Niger Delta over the control of oil revenues and organised crime, resulting in ongoing low-level displacement. Conflicts linked with secessionist demands in Nigeria’s south-east, as well as local land disputes between indigenous groups and settlers, have also raised concerns of resulting displacement.