CNN was recently allowed to visit the 24 Filipino hostages being held in the mangrove swamps of Nigeria and in this somewhat chilling interview, the leader of the militants has said that they will step up their campaign of violence. Meanwhile the government talks a lot, but does nothing and the helicopters of the Nigerian Air Force spend most of their time keeping away from the dangerous areas, just carrying out training missions well away from the swamps or ferrying VIPs to Owerri to catch their flights to Lagos or Abuja
CNN was recently taken to the hostages and one of the militant hideouts in the Niger Delta. It was an exclusive glimpse of a militant group that calls itself the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, which has ratcheted up its battle for what it says is the unequal distribution of the nation's oil wealth.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer. In 2005, it was the world's sixth largest exporter of oil, but the conflict there has cut distribution by an estimated 500,000 barrels per day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The militants are threatening to hurt the oil sector even more.
"We are going to descend on all foreign interests in the Nigerian economy, either in the river or in the land," said a masked man who called himself Maj. Gen. Tamuno. He said he was the group's leader.
He gave the interview from the murky swamps where the militants have taken up arms, and said his group would soon launch "Operation Black Locust," aimed at key installations across the country. His militants claimed to have 200,000 fighters among them.
"We are telling all expatriates to leave Nigeria, not only the Niger Delta, but to leave Nigeria. We will take lives, we will destroy lives, we will crumble the economy," he said.
Since late 2005, MEND militants have carried out numerous attacks on Nigeria's oil sector and abducted dozens of foreign workers, releasing nearly all of them unharmed.
But in recent months, the attacks have become more brazen and more frequent. Two car bombings were carried out at oil company compounds in southern Nigeria's largest port town of Port Harcourt on December 18, and in January alone, militants abducted more than 30 people.
"The security situation in the Niger Delta region has deteriorated significantly over the past year. Travel to the region remains dangerous and should be avoided," the U.S. State Department said in its "travel warning" on Nigeria last month.
"Hostages haven been taken from oil facilities, public roadways, and within the city of Port Harcourt."
'Struggle for liberation'
The man who identified himself as MEND's leader said his group is fighting because of billions of dollars being made off the oil rich deposits of the Niger Delta, with very little of the profits making it back to the Nigerian people, especially those in the Delta where some of the world's poorest people live.
More than 2 million barrels of crude oil is pumped out of Nigeria every day, according to the U.S. Energy Department. International oil conglomerates from the United States, China and other countries have taken up stakes in the Niger Delta. Among the oil giants are Shell, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, and oil service companies like Schlumberger and Brazil's Petrobas.
The masked man said his forces are in the middle of a "struggle for the liberation of the Niger Delta, the most devastated and the most threatened region in the world."
"Our fight is against everybody," he said.
Nigerian forces have struggled in the battle. The navy doesn't travel to the regions where CNN went because the waters are so dangerous, patrolled by armed militants in speed boats that quickly navigate through the swamps.
One person who is working to try to bring an end to the crisis is American-born Judith Burdin Asuni. She works for a nongovernmental organization called Academic Associates Peaceworks, which specializes in conflict resolution.
She says everyone bears the blame for what's happening in the Delta.
"The government, the oil companies and even the militants all share the blame," she told CNN. "The situation shouldn't have been allowed to deteriorate to this level."
And she said the militants should be taken extremely seriously.
"The militants are far more well armed than the Nigerian navy. They have bigger guns and speed boats that can practically go anywhere, even shallow waters," she said.
A week ago, the militants sailed into Port Harcourt and boldly made their way to the central police station in the middle of the town and shot their way out, rescuing 15 of their comrades who had been arrested by the navy.
"That's how bold they've become," Asuni said. "They rule the roost."
Former Nigerian military ruler and retired four-star general, Ibrahim Babangida, said the country's leaders must do something soon to try to bring about an end to the crisis.
"The window is closing fast," he said. "The Niger Delta crisis is solvable but our leaders have to act fast. I know the Delta, I spent some time there. Those militants can only wait so long."