The Niger Delta Development Commission is established by an act of parliament after President Olusegun Obasanjo refuses to sign the act into law. It is established as a development agency to facilitate and execute development projects in the nine oil-bearing states in the South-South region of Nigeria. It is to receive funding from the government and a levy from the oil multinationals operating in the region. Since its inception, the agency has been bogged down by political bickering and has been starved of funds by the federal government and oil companies in the region.

Odi, an oil-bearing community in Bayelsa State is razed to the ground by Nigerian military troops and about 2,483 persons - mainly women, children and the elderly-- are massacred on the order of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The reason given by the government for the invasion: some 9 police officers that had gone into the community to arrest a notorious gang in the state, but were allegedly killed by the gang. The President threatened to declare a state of emergency within 14 days.

Nigeria returns to civil rule after years of military dictatorship. President Olusegun Obasanjo is sworn in as civilian President of Nigeria, ending decades of military dictatorship. Hopes are raised in the delta and other parts of Nigeria that the region’s problems will be resolved democratically and through dialogue.