Warri Crisis

The Warri Crisis was a series of conflicts in Delta State, Nigeria between 1997 and 2003 between the Itsekiri, the Ijaw, and the Urhobo ethnic groups.^[1] Over 200,000 people were displaced by the Warri conflict between 1999 and 2006. Over 700,000 people were displaced during this period by violence in Delta State overall.^[2]^[3]

The conflict broke out following a government decision that changed the location of the Warri South West Local Government Council (LGA) to the Itsekeri community of Ogidigben from the Ijaw town of Ogbe Ijoh.^[4]^[5] The Council headquarters was eventually returned to Ogbe Ijoh, which restored a fragile peace in 2005.^[6]

The Warri Crisis is part of a broader conflict over oil in the Niger Delta.^[6] Human Rights Watch determined that "although the violence has both ethnic and political dimensions, it is essentially a fight over the oil money."^[7] Ongoing armed conflict in the Niger Delta region, and the appearance of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in 2005 are continued expressions of these tensions.^[2]

Scholars have warned that the conflict is complex and not amenable to "quick fixes".^[8]

^ Nigeria: INC Wants Lasting Solution to Warri Crisis. By Sola Adebayo, 5 February 2003, Vanguard (Lagos).
^ ^a ^b Leton, Marcus (2006). "Oil And The Urban Question - Fuelling Violence and Politics in Warri" (PDF). Niger Delta Economies of Violence Working Papers (8). Retrieved 28 September 2021.
^ “Violence left 3 million bereft in past seven years Nigeria reports”, New York Times, March 14th 2006, p.A6
^ "How Warri North crisis started - Egbema chiefs". Vanguard News. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "Warri Crisis: Causes and Impact on the Oil Industry in the Niger Delta". EBSU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 11 (1). 2021.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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[:2-1] Nigeria: INC Wants Lasting Solution to Warri Crisis. By Sola Adebayo, 5 February 2003, Vanguard (Lagos).

[:4-2] Leton, Marcus (2006). "Oil And The Urban Question - Fuelling Violence and Politics in Warri" (PDF). Niger Delta Economies of Violence Working Papers (8). Retrieved 28 September 2021.

[:5-3] “Violence left 3 million bereft in past seven years Nigeria reports”, New York Times, March 14th 2006, p.A6

[4] "How Warri North crisis started - Egbema chiefs". Vanguard News. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2021.

[5] "Warri Crisis: Causes and Impact on the Oil Industry in the Niger Delta". EBSU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 11 (1). 2021.

[:0-6] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:3-7] Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:1-8] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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