Present-day violence and political conflict in Nigeria is rooted in long-standing power struggles among the diverse cultural, ethnic and religious groups that inhabit this large West African country. After Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960, electoral corruption and economic inequality led to several military coups. The unstable political situation increased ethnic tension and violence, which resulted in an internal conflict that lasted from 1967 to 1970. After the war, Nigeria underwent three decades of military rule.

In 1999, Nigeria returned to democracy with the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo. International observers have condemned this and subsequent presidential elections in Nigeria as flawed. However, early in his presidency, Obasanjo established the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (known as the Oputa Panel) to investigate human rights abuses committed between 19 January 1966 and 28 May 1999. (Read more about the Oputa Panel.)

Following the closing of the Oputa Panel in May 2002, the need for another mechanism was identified to address gross violations of human rights committed in the Niger Delta region between 2000 and 2004. On 29 November 2007, Rotimi Amaechi, the governor of Rivers State, one of the three Niger Delta states, inaugurated the Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission, mandated to identify perpetrators and victims involved in a series of violent conflicts in the state and granted the power to recommend prosecutions and reparations. (Read more about the Rivers State commission.)

In early 2007, Rivers State attempted an amnesty programme involving payment to militants in exchange for giving up weapons and renouncing further violence. This programme was unsuccessful. In 2009, Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua established a new amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region, granting pardons to repentant militants who surrendered their arms within a 60-day period. This was followed up by a less successful “post-amnesty programme.” (Read more about the amnesty programme.)

In February 2011, Osun State, in southwestern Nigeria, established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address corruption and human rights abuses committed since 1993. (Read more about the Osun State commission.)

In September 2011, the governor of Ogun State, also in southwestern Nigeria, announced the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which is mandated to investigate the administration of his predecessor. (Read more about the Ogun State committee.)