The deposit of natural resources in any area by God is a design to provide for the needs of the people living on the land. But the people of Niger Delta have not been lucky enough to derive such benefits from the resources found in their land. Who are the people benefiting from the resources and why are they extracted at the detriment of the host communities? The answers to these questions are what AFJN works to answer in fulfillment of its commitment to issues of peace and justice in the troubled regions of Africa.

Ten years after the infamous execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other protesters in Nigeria, the same frustrations that led to their activism against an abusive military government are fueling a rebel movement against the nation’s new democratic government. The oil industry has brought great damage to the Delta region with oil spills that lead to never-ending gas flares, endangering both the environment and the health of the local people. These damaging effects are not countered by any payoffs from the booming oil industry and seventy percent of the surrounding communities live on less than one U.S. dollar a day. The rebel group known as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is gaining power and support as the Delta groups have yet to benefit from Nigeria’s annual $45 billion in oil export revenues and see that the government doing little to support their well-being.