SUMMARY

The Forces of Edu was one of several armed youth militia groups that fought against each other to gain favor from the oil companies operating in the oil-rich area of the Niger Delta in Nigeria (for more info, see Forces of Agala - Forces of Edu).

It operated in Rumuekpe, an area traditionally governed locally by eight chiefs and opinion leaders drawn from the areas eight different communities. However, Rumuekpe was also one of the main oil producing communities in the Niger Delta.

Members of the Forces of Edu drew from the Ikwerre ethnic group that populated the Rumuekpe area. As a youth group, its members ages ranged generally from their teens to their early forties. However, it was not the only armed youth group drawing from this demographic and others included the Forces of Agala, which had no ideological distinction to the Forces of Edu.

Friday Edu, also commonly known as Pele, was the group leader. He was initially a local youth leader, who formed the Rumuekpe Youth Congress through which he recruited his subsequent youth militia in 2005. Edu became the Community Liaison Officer for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) after his forces gained dominance in the Rumuekpe area. However, he was murdered in a suburb of Port Harcourt, Rukpokwu, after his forces were displaced from power by the Forces of Agala and his rival took over as Communitu Liaison Officer for SPDC.

To initiate and train recruits, the Forces of Edu collaborated with Soboma George, who was an experienced commander and leader of the secret criminal street gang Outlaws that splintered from the NDV in 2005.

When the Forces of Edu were the most powerful group in its local area, they received financial payments from the SPDC.