The Niger Delta region of Nigeria has remained a major site of conflict and insecurity despite decades of oil exploitation that generates the bulk of the country’s national revenue. This study critically examines the Niger Delta crisis by analyzing the interconnections between environmental degradation, governance failure, and socio-economic marginalization. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study relies on secondary data drawn from scholarly literature, government documents, policy reports, and publications by international and civil society organizations. The analysis is anchored on the political economy framework, which explains how centralized resource control, elite domination, and weak institutions have shaped patterns of exclusion and conflict in oil-producing communities. The findings reveal that persistent environmental pollution, inadequate compensation, corruption within intervention agencies, and limited community participation have intensified poverty, youth restiveness, and militancy in the region. Although government initiatives such as the Presidential Amnesty Programme and development agencies have contributed to short-term stability, they have failed to address the structural roots of the crisis. The study argues that sustainable peace and development in the Niger Delta require environmental justice, fiscal restructuring, accountable governance, and strengthened civil society engagement.