As described in the September 29, 2004 WAR Report, Ijaw rebel leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF) last week threatened that an offensive called ?Operation Locust Feast? would target oil processing facilities and foreign workers if demands were not met by October 1, 2004. His statements, which imperiled the oil flow from the world?s seventh-largest exporter, contributed to push the global price for oil over the US$50.00 per barrel threshold to an all-time high of US$50.47. He later publicly back-peddled on his threats against the oil industry, but he was able to secure negotiations with government officials that ultimately thwarted a violent confrontation.

The Ijaw people are the fourth largest tribe in Nigeria and are strategically located across five states?much of which is the oil rich Niger River Delta region. The NDPVF leadership, including Asari, is quite educated, but the group of nearly 300 is thought to be highly trained and well armed. Although the tribe has been known to cultivate a strong warrior ethos, as reported last week, the Ijaw have threatened and utilized civil unrest, including mob protest and violence, to pressure regional governments and oil companies to improve economic conditions, secure a percentage of oil revenues for development, and push greater levels of self-determination. Nonetheless, the NDPVF has grown to pose such a significant threat that early in September the Nigerian government launched an offensive against the group, and some oil companies withdrew as many as 200 employees from local facilities.

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