SUMMARY

The Ijaw people, also known as "Ijo" or "Izon”, are an ethnic group of around fourteen million people based in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. They are the most populous indigenous inhabitants of the oil-rich Niger Delta and constitute the fourth largest ethnicity within the borders of Nigeria. The Ijaw people are scattered across six states within federal Nigeria, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States. They speak nine closely-related Niger-Congo languages, all of which belong to the Ijoid branch of the Niger-Congo tree.

The Ijaw people have no unified command, but during the non-state conflict with the Itsekiri the FNDIC (Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities) actively led and coordinated Ijaw fighters. FNDIC was headed by Bello Oboko in 2003 and other FNDIC leaders have included Lucky Oromoni, George Timimmi, David Peve and Lucky Izoukumor.

Another prominent Ijaw organisation was the IYC (Ijaw Youth Council) a militant umbrella organisation of Ijaw advocacy associations affiliated with FNDIC. There have also been many independent Ijaw militia groups. One of them, NDPVF (Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force) engaged in an intrastate conflict against the Nigerian government and a non-state conflict with a rival Ijaw militant group, NDV (Niger Delta Vigilantes). Other groups included the Egbesu Boys and MOSIEND (Movement for the Survival of the Izon Nationality in the Niger Delta).

The Ijaw have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.