The Iduwini Youths are the violent wing of the Iduwini National Movement for Peace and Development (INMPD), an advocacy group in Southern Nigeria that supports the rights of the Iduwini people. The INMPD and the Iduwini Youths are based in the swampy area between Bayelsa and Delta State in Southern Nigeria, the native home of Nigeria's fourth largest ethnic group, the Ijaw. This region is especially rich in Nigeria's chief natural resource, oil, and hence, has attracted the attention of many large oil companies. <P><br /><br />The INMPD and the Iduwini Youths oppose what they deem to be the exploitation of their indigenous environment at great cost to the local people. They assert that oil majors with contracts to drill and explore in Southern Nigeria (such as Shell and Chevron) disrupt indigenous life to an unacceptable extent. Local fishing has been hurt by the pollution caused by drilling activities, and the stark contrast between the massive profits realized by oil companies and the widespread poverty that characterizes the rest of the region only serves to exacerbate tensions. The Iduwini claim that despite several Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) signed by Iduwini leaders and representatives from oil companies, no new job opportunities have been created for locals and no significant investment in the local community has occurred to help ease the harmful effects of oil drilling and exploration. <P><br /><br />Though it condemns the methods used by the Iduwini Youths, the Nigerian government certainly shares the same grievances, and on numerous occasions, has voiced its concerns to the parties involved. Tensions came to a head in August 2004, when the Nigerian Senate demanded that Shell Oil pay Bayelsa state $1.5 billion dollars, an order that Shell found to be unacceptable, especially considering the poor level of protection the Nigerian government offers to exposed pipelines and offshore oil facilities. <P><br /><br />Two recent attacks are representative of the tactics used by the Iduwini Youths, who rely on kidnapping expatriate and Nigerian employees of oil companies with operations in their native territory to highlight their cause and bring about negotiations. On December 25, 2004, a Croatian contractor for Shell Oil and 15 Nigerian workers were kidnapped by Iduwini militants. The culprits demanded that Shell sit down and talk about the grievances of the Iduwini people. Shell declined the offer, stating that it "does not sign MOUs with terrorists," and after negotiations with local authorities, all the hostages were released. On June 19, 2005, apparently with the same motives, the Iduwini Youths kidnapped and released 2 German and 4 Nigerian Shell subcontractors, an action that has not substantially furthered their cause.<br /><br />