Governance failure and the formation of Anti-State Organisations: The Impact of the Amnesty Policy on the Development of Nigeria’s Niger-Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

The Amnesty policy was devised by the Nigerian government to take-off militants from attacking oil pipelines in Niger-Delta. This was with the view to promoting development in the region. While studies have examined the influence of the Amnesty policy on the empowerment of repentant militants, little is known about how governance failure in the implementation of the policy provokes the formation of anti-state organizations and its contributions to development in the region. This research addresses this gap by examining the role of the Nigerian government in the implementation of the amnesty policy, and identify, if any, failure in the implementation of the policy, provokes the resurgence of anti-state organizations in the region. The study used a qualitative research design and findings indicated that the formation of the Niger-Delta Avengers; an anti-state organisation, was due to the government's inaction to effectively implement the amnesty policy as expected. Furthermore, results showed that the Nigerian government was more interested in protecting its oil pipelines and wells than the development of the area. The paper concludes that the Amnesty policy is a conduit pipe for corruption by successive representatives of Nigerian government.