SUMMARY

Greenlanders is an armed group that was active primarily in Rivers State in southern Nigeria in general, and in Port Harcourt in particular. Often described as a cult, or street gang, the Greenlander group has its roots in the phenomenon of confraternities at Nigerian universities. The first confraternity, the Pyrates, was formed in 1952 and soon others appeared. Initially respectable social groups with objectives such as promoting social awareness and fighting social injustices, the confraternities eventually turned into belligerent gangs that fiercely struggled for supremacy; a transformation that many argue reflected a wider breakdown of traditional values in society. In the 1990s many of the confraternities began setting up business offshoots or ‘street cults’, especially in and around the major cities. Being the location of all of Nigeria’s oil findings, the Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states or southern Nigeria has suffered the fate of receiving very little of the benefits from the oil, while at the same time suffering from the environmental degradation that has come in its wake. In this context, where unemployment and poverty are ripe, and large squatter/slum settlements spring up with no or little government presence, there are pools of vulnerable young men willing to join urban cults and gangs, and the phenomenon quickly spread. One of the main confraternities, the SVC (Supreme Viking Confraternity) launched both the NDV (at the time called ‘Icelanders’) and Deewell. Greenlanders was in turn founded through a split from NDV before the 2003 elections.

Like many other cult groups, Greenlanders were involved in petty crime, local kidnappings and drug trafficking.

In the highly volitile Niger delta, two main groupings, or alliance blocs, emerged in the mid-2000s, centered on NDV and NDPVF. Having broken away from the former, Greenlanders joined forces with the latter, together with Deebam (a cult created by the Klansmen Confraternity) and Bush Boys (an ethnic militia, based among the Okrika) among others. These groups at times fought together.

The group was initially led by Julius Oruitemeka, also called Juju, but he was killed by Ateke Tom, leader of NDV, a few months after the split. It is unclear who replaced him.

The Greenlander cult has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.