Ebikabowei Victor-Ben

Last updated
Ebikabowei Victor-Ben
Born1971
Niger Delta [ vague ]
NationalityNigerian
Occupation(s) MEND commander
Politician

Ebikabowei "Boyloaf" Victor-Ben (born 1971) is former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. Boyloaf remains popular in the Niger Delta and is currently a Business Politician.

Contents

He also has 8 brothers, their eldest passed away. Some of those brothers are Tueride Victor-Ben l, Selekai Victor-Ben, Tari Victor-Ben and the youngest who is seventeen years old, Dembofa Victor-Ben.

[ needs update ]

Boyloaf at one time was one of the highest-ranked commanders in MEND but left the organization after he was granted amnesty in 2009 by president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. Since being granted amnesty he has not joined any militant group but still hopes that one day the Niger Delta region will become independent.

Militancy and activism

Boyloaf joined the newly formed Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta in 2006. Boyloaf soon rose to prominence in the ranks of MEND due to his expert commanding skills and was ranked 3rd highest in the ranks of MEND after Dokubo-Asari and Henry Okah. The name Boyloaf became well known throughout the Niger Delta and Boyloaf recruited hundreds of men and turned them into well trained soldiers. By 2008 Boyloaf had influence over many soldiers and people throughout the Niger Delta region. On August 27, 2009 Boyloaf was granted amnesty by the Nigerian president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in Port Harcourt.

Soon after leaving MEND he became a prominent Nigerian politician and was popular among the people in the Niger Delta region. On October 1, 2010 MEND planted two bombs in the capital Abuja killing 12 people and wounding 17. Boyloaf was arrested but soon released. Boyloaf was arrested again on January 13, 2012 after a car bomb had exploded in a town he had been in the previous day. Again he released soon after. In late 2012 Boyloaf began promoting the Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 Nigerian election. Due to the spike in MEND's activities in early 2013 Boyloaf was yet again arrested on February 4, 2013 and again released soon after. Even though Boyloaf's days of militancy are far behind him he says that if there is no progress in the Niger Delta and the people of the delta continue to suffer he will return to fighting.

Personal life

He officially wedded his longtime girlfriend Onyi Maris (with whom he has a daughter) in Houston Texas on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. In November 19th, 2022 Boyloaf re-married to Faridia Olivia, the widow of ex-governor (Audu Abubakar) of Kogi State, Nigeria. [1]

Criticisms

Following a review of government data published by Govspend, a platform which tracks Nigerian government spending, it was revealed that the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger-Delta paid Boyloaf about N564.7 million between July and November 2023 in 18 different transactions. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umaru Musa Yar'Adua</span> President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua ; 16 August 1951 – 5 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta</span> Militant group in Nigeria

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a decentralised militant group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. MEND's actions – including sabotage, theft, property destruction, guerrilla warfare, and kidnapping – are part of the broader conflict in the Niger Delta and reduced Nigeria's oil production by 33% between 2006-07.

Asari-Dokubo, formerly Melford Dokubo Goodhead Jr. and typically referred to simply as Asari, is a major political figure of the Ijaw ethnic group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. He was president of the Ijaw Youth Council for a time beginning in 2001 and later founded the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force which would become one of the most prominent armed groups operating in the Niger Delta region. He is a Muslim with populist views and an anti-government stance that have made him a folk hero amongst certain members of the local population.

Ateke Tom is a traditional ruler and the first Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, who was the former leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante, an ethnic Ijaw militia in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In August 2007, following days of gun fights between various militia groups and security forces in Port Harcourt, Ateke Tom wrote to the Governor of Rivers State Celestine Omehia, requesting amnesty in response to an offer of clemency and rehabilitation the government had offered to militia who surrendered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conflict in the Niger Delta</span> Ongoing military conflict

The current conflict in the Niger Delta first arose in the early 1990s over tensions between foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who feel they are being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw. Ethnic and political unrest continued throughout the 1990s despite the return to democracy and the election of the Obasanjo government in 1999. Struggle for oil wealth and environmental harm over its impacts has fueled violence between ethnic groups, causing the militarization of nearly the entire region by ethnic militia groups, Nigerian military and police forces, notably the Nigerian Mobile Police. The violence has contributed to Nigeria's ongoing energy supply crisis by discouraging foreign investment in new power generation plants in the region.

Henry Okah is the assumed Nigerian guerrilla leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a title he denies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godwin Abbe</span> Nigerian politician

Godwin Osagie Abbe in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria is a retired Nigerian Army Major General and former Defence Minister of Nigeria from 2009 to 2010. He served as the Nigerian Minister of Interior from 2007 to 2009.

James Manager is a Nigerian politician of the People's Democratic Party who served as a senator representing Delta South Senatorial District of Delta State in the Nigerian Senate from 2003 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of President Umaru Yar'Adua</span>

The Cabinet of President Umaru Yar'Adua was made up of the Ministers and Ministers of State appointed by Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua. The cabinet continued to govern for a few weeks under Acting President Goodluck Jonathan after Yar'Adua fell terminally ill.

The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is one of the Federal Ministries of Nigeria. It focuses on the infrastructural development, environmental protection and empowerment of youths in the oil rich Niger Delta region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aminu Isa Kontagora</span> Nigerian politician (1956–2021)

Aminu Isa Kontagora was a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Benue State, Nigeria, from August 1996 to August 1998 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha, then Governor of Kano State from September 1998 to May 1999 during the transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, handing over power to the elected executive governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on 29 May 1999.

Paul Ufuoma Omu was Military Governor of South-Eastern State, Nigeria between July 1975 and July 1978 during the military regimes of Generals Murtala Muhammed and Olusegun Obasanjo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afakriya Gadzama</span>

Afakriya Aduwa Gadzama mni OFR is a Nigerian security officer who is the Chairman of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies. He previously served as Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) under President Umaru Yar'Adua from August 2007 to September 2010.

Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo predominantly referred to by his sobriquet Tompolo is a former Nigerian militant commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and the chief priest of the Egbesu deity, which is the Niger-Deltan god of war.

Soboma George was a militant in both the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and The Outlaws. In August 2009 George accepted an amnesty offer made by the Nigerian government, under President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. George reportedly escaped multiple arrests and assassination attempts before being killed on August 24, 2010, in Port Harcourt.

The following lists events that happened during 2007 in Nigeria.

The 2016 Niger Delta conflict is an ongoing conflict around the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in a bid for the secession of the region, which was a part of the breakaway state of Biafra. It follows on-and-off conflict in the Christian-dominated southern Niger Delta in the preceding years, as well as an insurgency in the Muslim-dominated northeast.

Godknows Boladei Igali is a Nigerian public servant, diplomat, author and scholar. He was appointed by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in September 2007 as an ambassador to the Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Denmark and Norway, a position he occupied until he was appointed a Federal Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources on 4 May 2010.

The 2003 Katsina State gubernatorial election occurred on 19 April 2003. PDP candidate Umaru Musa Yar'Adua won the election, defeating ANPP Nura Khalil and 5 other candidates.

Abdulaziz Musa Yar'Adua is a Nigerian politician and retired military officer who is the senator representing Katsina Central senatorial district since 2023. He is a brother of former Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and former de facto vice president General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua.

References

  1. ↑ Korkus, Stella Dimoko. "EX Niger Delta Agitator Boyloaf Marries Olivia, Widow Of Late Gov" . Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  2. ↑ Mohammed, Yakubu (2024-02-06). "Nigerian MDAs paid over N159bn into private accounts in six years". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.