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Ateke Tom
Nigeria

Ateke Tom

Leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante

Commentary: He promised Jonathan he would renounce violence in October 2009. In 1999, he had formed a vigilante group to fight the Bush Boys and at the 2003 elections in Rivers State, his ‘Icelanders’ delivered victory for the People’s Democratic Party in Okrika local government, an opposition stronghold. His group, Niger Delta Vigilantes, took over the KKK and Greenlanders gang, beheading its leader, Julius. Until the 2004 peace accords, his rivalry with Dokubo-Asari paralysed the Delta for a year. Tom has renounced militancy but could resume operations if political patronage dries up.