in the niger delta:
Ateke Tom, known as the godfather of the vigilantes in the dangerous Niger Delta, has threatened war against Nigeria's government and admitted to carrying out deadly attacks on two police stations.
(...) The Niger Delta accounts for all of the oil production in the world's eighth biggest oil producer which has an estimated income from oil of $20bn a year. It is estimated that 70 per cent or $14bn of that is stolen or goes missing.
(...) A former fighter now working as a peace mediator in Port Harcourt told Simmons that the government completely neglects the youth. He said: "You can look at this youth: they are not being attended to. No good school, no good medical care, you can see, [and] no good feeding. "So when you see them growing wilder every day, so that is that." For many Niger Delta youth, Simmons said it is a journey from destitution to a "violent life on the run". "Criminals, militants, kidnappers call them what you will," he said. "There is no doubt that whoever becomes president this weekend needs to seriously review how the [Niger Delta] crisis is handled."