Mujahid Dokubo-Asari (Asari)

Former leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF); Founding member of the Ijaw Youth Council

Date of Birth: 1964
Place of Birth: Port Harcourt

Education: Primary and Secondary School, Port Harcourt; University of Calabar, 1988-90.

Career: Stood unsuccessfully for election, Rivers State House of Assembly, 1992; stood unsuccessfully for election, Chairman of Asari-Toru; First Vice-President, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), 1998; President, IYC, 2001; Founder, Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), 2004; arrested for treason, 2005.

Commentary: Son of a judge and born Melford Dokubo Goodhead Junior, Asari graduated from leading the Ijaw Youth Congress into armed direct action against foreign oil companies. After military training in Libya, he returned home in 2003. He fell out with the then Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, and formed the NDPVF, fighting with rival militant Tom. After his arrest and release under an earlier amnesty, he informed on his former patrons and comrades. Now based in Benin, he makes occasional forays into Nigeria and backs the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria.