General information
Type of Incompatibility: Not applicable
Date of first battle related death: 1997-03-01
Date of conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1997-04-12
Comment on conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: The non-state conflict between Ijaw and Itsekiri is first included in UCDP data in 1997. In April that year clashes between the groups resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1997
Primary Parties: Ijaw - Itsekiri
Dimension: Non-State
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 418 |
| Best | 418 |
| Low | 418 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1998
Primary Parties: Ijaw - Itsekiri
Dimension: Non-State
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 36 |
| Best | 25 |
| Low | 25 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1999
Primary Parties: Ijaw - Itsekiri
Dimension: Non-State
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 200 |
| Best | 120 |
| Low | 120 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2003
Primary Parties: Ijaw - Itsekiri
Dimension: Non-State
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 136 |
| Best | 105 |
| Low | 105 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2004
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Non-State
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 26 |
| Best | 19 |
| Low | 19 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2021
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Non-State
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2025
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Non-State
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Conflict Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1997 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The violence in this conflict during this year was mainly tribal in nature. The initial outbreak of violence occurred in connection to the relocation of the headquarters of a local council. The proposed relocation caused rioting, in which four people lost their lives. These riots were followed by several episodes of rioting and communal unrest throughout the summer months of 1997.
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: The discrepancy in the deaths is due to uncertainty in the reporting from the conflict.
Terminated: NO
1998 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1999 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The violence in 1999 was mainly confined to speed boat attacks carried out by youths of the Ijaw ethnicity, the bulk of the fatalities stem from one such speed boat attack.
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: The majority of these fatalities stem from one event, in which there were 100 recorded fatalities.
Terminated: NO
2003 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: According to analysts, the outbreak of the 2003 non-state conflict between the Ijaw and the Itsekiri was triggered by a dispute over electoral ward boundaries during the lead up to the presidential elections in Nigeria in April 2003. The Ijaw organisation FNDIC (Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities) issued, among other things, a demand on the federal government to redraw the electoral wards. Fighting flared up in March, with continued violence during the election period in April and May. After a brief period with reduced fighting, violence again flared in July to September after the relaxation of a curfew imposed by the government in connection to the first wave of clashes.
Both the Ijaw and Itsekiri conducted raids on communities of the other ethnicity during the non-state fighting in 2003. The fighters of both groups used assault rifles and heavier weapons. They also burned down villages. Civilians were among the casualties. Analysts noted that both the Ijaw and Itsekeri militias seemed to be fighting with a higher level of organisation than in earlier non-state clashes between the groups. Each group claimed that the other was responsible for initiating the armed conflict.
Terminated: NO
2004 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2021 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2025 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
