The amnesty followed a rise in attacks from late 2005 as
MEND (the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta)
emerged as an alliance between militant groups across the
Delta. MEND’s demands included a call for a return to the fiscal
federalism of the 1960 constitution that allowed regions to
retain 50 per cent of oil and other revenues, the withdrawal
of oil companies from Nigeria and the release of key prisoners
from the Ijaw ethnic group. Forty-four attacks followed on
oil facilities in 2006, and 19 in the first three months of
2007, including car bombings and attacks on government
and military buildings using military equipment. By mid-2008,
the conflict had spread in scale and sophistication, with the
use of surface-to-air missiles by militants, and an increasing
number of confrontations between militants and the Joint
Task Force (JTF) on land and sea, including punitive air raids
on villages in attempts to target key commanders. Up to
1,000 people were killed in the first nine months of 2008.
By March 2009, crude oil exports had fallen to 1.6 million
barrels per day (bpd), down from 2.6 million in 2006. The
initial offer of amnesty was greeted with hostility and a
bombing in Lagos. T