When was oil discovered in nigeria

Non-violent opposition to the oil companies by the Ogoni people in the early s over the contamination of their land and lack of financial benefit from the oil revenues attracted international attention. Then, in , Ogoni author and campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa was charged with incitement to murder and executed by Nigeria's military government.

In an escalation of opposition to the environmental degradation and underdevelopment, armed groups began sabotaging pipelines and kidnapping oil company staff from , with a ceasefire called in by one group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.

A year later it announced an "all-out oil war" after a crackdown by the Nigerian military. Hundreds of minor court cases are brought each year in Nigeria over oil spills and pollution. Where was oil first discovered in Nigeria? What place was the first to give oil to the country? Oil was discovered in in the Oloibiri community now located in Bayelsa state , but industrial development of the oil field began much later in The first oil well was drilled in What are the highest paying companies in Nigeria?

After the beginning of the development of the oil industry, Nigeria became one of the leading exporting countries of this raw material. They all insisted oil companies, especially Royal Dutch Shell, should give them money as compensation for taking the oil. But as we spoke, a local government official drove up in his brand new luxury four-wheel-drive car, an expensive gold watch dangling on his wrist. A nearby mosquito infested swamp was being cleared to build a bed hotel and conference centre with an oil "museum".

Dimeari Von Kemedi, in charge of scrutinising contracts made by the Bayelsa state government said he would stop the project. The access to corrupt money allowed by political office in the Niger Delta is also responsible for the emergence of violent groups in the area. Their job was to ensure the ruling People's Democratic Party held onto power and therefore the oil money. These groups later got involved in oil theft, stealing tens of thousands of barrels a day for powerful syndicates, kidnapping and extortion.

Although groups like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta Mend use their contacts with journalists to promote a political agenda, most armed groups are criminal gangs who want their own share of the money being divided among the powerful.

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