Amnesty to Niger Delta Militants: Challenges and Opportunities for Future Peace Missions

Abstract

The Niger Delta militants’ disposition against the Federal government of Nigeria and the oil firms coupled with international pressures, compelled the Federal Government to grant amnesty to the Niger Delta Militants. The amnesty deal is a desperate effort by the Nigeria State to end the Niger Delta crisis, and thereby restore some dignity and pride to itself. Given this background the study investigated the nature and character of the amnesty deal, examined the rationale behind it. The objective of this paper also is to find out reasons why the amnesty deal may not fully work and of course to proffer solutions that can help sustain and strengthen the amnesty programme, in order for peace to reign in the Niger Delta and Nigeria by extension.