political thuggery, destruction and vandalism of public property, and assault on the lives of citizens. The response to the spread of violent crime and the breakdown of law and order has been the tendency of some state governments to create their own vigilante groups for self-protection, which tend to exacerbate rather than reduce youth violence. As examples of such groups, stakeholders mentioned the ‘Bakassi Boys’ in the Abia and Anambra States who act as substitutes for the state security system. Some transnational corporations are also known to have engaged the services of such groups to protect their property. This trend has further undermined the formal security services such as the police, and has led to the privatisation of public security. Elections and conflicts 192. Of all the factors that are important in reducing conflict, Nigerians view the legitimacy crisis in their leadership as the most formidable to overcome. Stakeholders lamented that, while elections are designed to produce leadership that represents the will of the people and commands their respect, the last two consecutive elections in 2003 and 2007 respectively have been merely an endorsement of preselected candidates at both the state and the federal levels. This clearly reflects the absence of democracy within political parties. 193. During the CRM, many stakeholders confirmed that the 2007 elections in particular were the most poorly organised and massively rigged in the country’s limited experience with electoral politics. This election has diminished citizens’ confidence in electoral processes and institutions and may contribute to undermining Nigeria’s capacity to manage its internal conflicts; it may, for example, fuel the violent tensions in the Niger Delta and other separatist tendencies in the country, particularly in the southeast and south-south geopolitical zones. On the other hand, the courts seem to have made some positive contributions by nullifying some gubernatorial, senatorial and representative elections and ordering reruns. The Niger Delta 84 194. By far the most prominent intrastate conflict in Nigeria is the violence in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta conflict remains the most formidable and intractable challenge to the Nigerian state since the return to civilian rule. Oil was first discovered in this region by the oil conglomerate Royal Dutch Shell in the 1950s in what became a turning point in the political economy of Nigeria. Much of the oil and gas reserves are located in the lands, farms and waterways of local communities scattered across the Niger Delta region. 195. However, although they are rich in mineral resources worth billions of dollars, these ethnic communities suffer extreme neglect since they lack even the most basic amenities such as clean drinking water, good schools, health care and good roads. But, more importantly, for nearly half a century the lands and waterways of these oil-rich communities have been extensively devastated by the exploration activities of Shell and other