SUMMARY
The southern region of Nigeria, and especially the delta area, is where the crude oil that constitutes a substantial amount of the Nigerian revenues is located. The fact that the oil and the subsequent incomes that can be extracted from it are concentrated to this area, in which several ethnic groups have their homeland, has led to violent episodes between ethnic groups contesting the ownership of land in and around the oil-rich delta area. Given these conditions, a number of groups mobilized and formed interest groups speaking on behalf of the ethnicities. This polarized the already fragile relations in the southern parts of Nigeria](/#country/475), and led to a situation where contested ownership of land, taxation of land or even the number of employees at the oil facilities were all potential conflict issues.
The other dyads that belong to the same Southern land ownership cluster of non-state conflicts are; Aguleri – Umuleri, Ijaw – Ilaje, Ogoni – Ndoki, Okrika – Eleme, Okrika – Ogoni”, Urhobo, Ijaw – Itsekiri,Ijaw – Itsekiri, and NDPVF – NDV.
The conflict between the Adoni and the Ogoni ethnic groups revolved largely around the issue of land ownership. These two ethnic groups reside in the southern, oil-rich, parts of Nigeria](/#country/475), a fact which complicates the subject of land rights and interaction with authorities.
Ogoni have been reluctant to let the oil companies use the land they claim to be theirs for any oil-related business. According to the Ogoni people it was this stance that put them in harm's way.
The first violent incident between the two groups occurred when a boat with Ogoni passengers returning from Cameroon was killed by armed Adoni men in late July 1993. Following this incident there were no recorded events until November of the same year, when it was reported that 800 Ogoni were killed when Adoni raided two towns. The information regarding these events is scarce, and most of it originates from MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People) wherefore it should be viewed with some precaution. This take on the event was also contrasted by the statements from Adoni officials who claimed that a substantial number of Adoni were killed in the battles, and described the Ogoni as land-grabbing aggressors.
MOSOP is an umbrella organization representing the Ogoni population in the Niger Delta. MOSOP claimed that because of the Ogoni’s reluctances to allow for exploitation and/or the building of pipelines on their land, they were targeted by the international oil companies and the Nigerian government through the Adoni people. The reluctance towards new oil exploration and/or construction was based on previous experiences. Despite the region being rich in natural resources it is one of the least developed in the country; the quality of the infrastructure in poor, as is the availability of proper health care. Another fact that made the Ogoni adverse to any further exploration was that very few of the 5000 employees working with oil-related jobs in the region were in fact Ogoni.
While it is clear that there was considerable violence between the Adoni and the Ogoni. It is however hazy as to a specific death toll, or specific patterns of targeting. Both groups accuse each other of wrongdoing.
The Adoni - Ogoni conflict must also be viewed in the broader spectrum of the ethnic and religious non-state conflicts that have ravaged Nigeria in the past. The conflicts throughout Nigeria have ethnic, political, economic, and religious components, which have become inextricably linked over time, pitting various groups and alliances of groups against each other along different dividing lines.
The non-state conflict between the Adoni and the Ogoni people of Nigeria is first included in UCDP data in 1993. In late July of that year clashes resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
