DELTA BOYS

Short Synopsis

DELTA BOYS is a documentary film that explores the untold stories of the Niger Delta and the Niger Delta militancy through the intimate and compelling stories of two militants, and gives a human face to the growing complexities of the global oil market and the West’s role within it, making viewers think about the profound costs of their oil dependence.

Description/Treatment

(PLEASE NOTE: An 8-minute work-in-progress sample of the film can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/2889662 Password: deltaboys)

The narrative of DELTA BOYS, a feature-length, documentary film, begins on a quiet morning in “Angola 3,” a militant camp in the Niger Delta, a few hours outside the bustling Port Harcourt. Pigs, cows, chickens and monkeys roam the camp as birdsongs greet the new day. Slowly, teenagers stir from their tents, venturing into the already bright sun.  Ateke Tom, a stout, middle-aged man, and the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Force, is among the first to rise. Though soft-spoken and mild-mannered, Ateke rules the camp with an iron fist. This is his camp, and the boys are his responsibility. He provides for all their immediate needs—food, shelter, clothing, and weapons, and acts as their father figure, providing tough love and guidance.

The boys have a few chores, preparing food and keeping their weapons in good repair. They spend most of their days entertaining themselves with singing, dancing and soccer. Many rely on marijuana, cigarettes, and native gin to pass the time. When tension rises among the young men, fights break out, leading to extended bare-knuckled boxing matches. At times, discipline is enforced through brutal floggings.

On this particular day, Chima is taking the brunt of the punishment. Normally, the boys take turns standing guard at the edge of the camp to prevent disaffected militants from trying to escape. Chima and two other guards have abandoned their post, and several of the older militants flog them for their misbehavior.  Chima’s story is not uncommon in camp. He had been in prison for robbery and the subsequent manslaughter of the man who saw him do it. When Ateke Tom staged a prison break to release his second-in-command, Chima also managed to escape. In Chima’s mind, Ateke saved his life that day. He volunteered to join the militia. Now Chima’s greatest desire is to return home to his mother, but his allegiance to Ateke outweighs his commitment to family.

Almost everyone in camp, including Ateke, shares Chima’s desire to go home. They talk constantly of a proposed amnesty that is being negotiated with the Nigerian federal government. The amnesty would allow them to return to society un-punished. But Ateke is also embroiled in a local battle having been chased into the creeks by his personal enemy Rotimi Amaechi the current governor of Rivers State.

Local politicians convene a “Truth & Reconciliation Commission” in Port Harcourt that seeks to resolve the never-ending conflict. But the odds seem stacked against Ateke as charge after charge is leveled against him in the public forum. It becomes clear that he is public enemy number one, and that amnesty will not be forthcoming. Finally, Governor Amaechi declares that there will be “no amnesty for criminals.”  In response, an historic meeting of almost all the militant leaders in Rivers State is convened in “Angola 3,” with Ateke Tom presiding. The meeting is significant because it brings together groups that were previously in conflict with each other. It is extraordinary that they are gathering in peace, and willing to let the event be documented on camera. The tone of the meeting is positive at first. Over pepper soup and lots of alcohol, the leaders agree to bury past differences in order to work together for a common goal. The common goal, however, appears as corrupt as the forces they fight against. They slowly reveal what they want: payoffs from the Rivers State government, similar to payoffs made to militants in neighboring Bayelsa State and Delta State. It becomes clear that they are not talking about a legitimate resistance to government. They are not talking about seeking reparations for environmental damage caused by the oil industry. They are not talking about new development in the Niger Delta, schools or hospitals. They simply want their cut of the lucrative oil trade.

Meanwhile, fishing people in the nearby river village of Ijawkiri subsist entirely on the fruits of their labor, but their sustenance is endangered. Fish populations have diminished as a result of oil spills and seepage during decades of oil exploitation. On days when the river yields no fish, the villagers don’t eat. Now, militants from the Okoloma Ikpangi, another camp across the river visit Ijawkiri regularly to buy cigarettes and other provisions. Yet the villagers struggle daily for their subsistence. George and Sammy are two strong young fishermen who resisted requests to join the militant camp. One day we watch as they choose to hunt instead of fish. The camera follows them deep into the forest. Armed only with a pack of three dogs, they race through the dense bush leaping over roots, diving under vines, and chasing down giant monitor lizards in an incredible display of hunting prowess. They tie the giant lizards with supple vines, and head back out of the bush. As the two young hunters emerge from the jungle after this primitive hunt for desperately needed food, it is shocking to be confronted by the modern oil infrastructure of three multi-national companies just across the river in Bonny. As George and Sammy cross the frame with their catch, the camera rests on the strange man-made domes and towers of Shell’s multi-billion dollar Bonny LNG natural gas plant.

Billions of dollars of oil and natural gas are pumped through Bonny every year. Yet less than ten minutes away, the villagers of Ijawkiri have no access to education, employment, or modern medical care. When 22-year-old Mama goes into labor in the deprived village, her mother calls for the midwife, while the Okoloma Ikpangi boys gear up for an attack on the Nigerian Navy. They launch six gunboats brandishing heavy artillery including a mounted 50-caliber Brandy, rocket launchers, and general-purpose machine guns. They fire their weapons as a war cry, and then speed off into battle.

Mama’s delivery is not easy. She lies on the floor of her thatch hut, praying for the baby to come. Her father gathers some native roots and insists that she eats them to help induce the pregnancy. They are bitter, but she chokes them down. The baby doesn’t come. The pastor prays over her, calling on Jesus and Jehova to speed the baby’s healthy birth. The midwife arrives five hours later on the market boat from Port Harcourt. Even her expertise, and a strange concoction of native herbs do nothing to hasten the delivery. Night falls, and the village is quiet.

When the sun rises, half the village gathers outside Mama’s shack. She starts to scream, and her father yells for her to push. The baby is halfway out and Mama falls unconscious. The baby stops breathing, and mama’s sisters spring into action gathering salt to sprinkle on mama’s face and handfuls of dirt to blow on the baby. Amazingly, these strange remedies are successful. The baby is delivered, and there is cause for celebration.

Then the somber news arrives that nine of the Okoloma Ikpangi boys were killed by the Nigerian Navy. The villagers express regret over the lost souls, but also express their dislike for the militants. They feel the militants’ close proximity to their village puts them in danger. They complain that the militants even fire their guns inside the village occasionally, and pirate vulnerable vessels in the creeks. The villagers believe that the militants are just fighting for themselves—fighting to fill their bellies.  

Despite the military strength of the many militant factions in the Niger Delta, the same corruption and self-interest that infests the Nigerian government derails the sincerity of any genuine resistance among the Niger Delta youths. Most residents of the region complain that the militants have hijacked the legitimate Niger Delta cause as a front for their own criminal activities. Yet conditions in the Niger Delta are bleak, and many young men see the militancy as their only chance in life.

As Delta Boys unfolds, the fate of the Niger Delta hangs in the balance. Chima continues to pray for a reunion with his family, but political machinations delay the conclusion of an amnesty agreement. Ateke Tom languishes in “Angola 3,” a wanted man. Mama’s newborn child is nurtured in the dirty fishing port of Ijawkiri, oblivious to the lousy card she’s been dealt. And the Okoloma Ikpangi boys nurse their wounds, mourn their dead brothers, and tentatively try to convince themselves that their fight is worthy.  As gas prices test new highs worldwide, the fates of the delta boys and the global economy seem closely intertwined.


Delta Boys is an intimate, character-based film that illuminates the realities of the militant camps and Niger Delta community. The film will bring the audience inside a world it has never seen or even imagined.  It will give Western viewers a window into Nigeria, a way to understand and absorb the causes and effects of the Niger Delta militancy, and a portrait of the human suffering that is all too often the price paid for the cheap oil the West desires.  

By educating audiences about life in the Niger Delta through intimate, compelling personal stories, Delta Boys will encourage audiences to think about the profound cost of their oil dependence and inspire them to be more environmentally conscious.  Additionally, by bringing these untold stories to mainstream audiences, Delta Boys will help make this unjust situation become a mainstream issue, ultimately placing necessary pressure on the Nigerian government and the oil companies to invest in the local Niger Delta community from which they are reaping benefits.