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Foreigners kidnapped in Nigeria despite separatist's release
AFP
Nigerian separatist guerrillasAFP
LAGOS
Petroleumworld.com 06 15 07Gunmen have kidnapped several foreigners in the main oil-producing region of southern Nigeria, military and industry sources said Friday.
At least five people were abducted in three separate incidents in two different southern states in the space of 48 hours, according to Major Omale Ochaguba, a spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) responsible for policing the Niger Delta.
The various abductions straddled the release Thursday of a key regional separatist leader charged with treason. His release had raised hopes that the string of hostage-takings over recent months would end.
One Indian was kidnapped early Friday in Delta State, Ochaguba said.
On Thursday a Polish national was kidnapped in neighbouring Bayelsa State and on Wednesday three Chinese were abducted, also in Bayelsa, he said.
"The identity of the (Bayelsa) kidnappers is unknown but efforts are on to locate them," he told AFP.
Several members of the gang that kidnapped the Indian were arrested by the JTF, but the fate of the hostage was not immediately clear.
There was no confirmation from any of the embassies concerned, with a Chinese diplomat saying his embassy was "still making inquiries".
The latest kidnappings more or less coincide with the provisional release of Mujahid Asari Dokubo, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), who had been held since 2005 on treason charges.
The Abuja high court ordered Dokubo's release for medical reasons, less than a week after Nigeria's Supreme Court refused him bail on the grounds that it would threaten national security.
The high court ruled that the case would resume when Dokubo was "fully fit to stand trial".
Dokubo was still in Abuja Friday, meeting with Vice President Jonathan Goodluck, who also originates from the Niger Delta. Festus Keyamo, Dokubo's lawyer, told AFP his client planned to travel back to the delta on Saturday.
The inhabitants of Rivers, Dokubo's home state, started celebrating Thursday in anticipation of his return, residents said.
Analysts said the release of Dokubo could be a first step toward ending strife in the delta that has cut oil output by a quarter for Africa's biggest producer.
But Patrick Naagbanton of the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development in Eleme, Rivers State, said it was unlikely to put a complete stop to kidnappings.
"Apart from the ideological, political militant groups, we also have criminal gangs and gangsters claiming to be working for Niger Delta people", he said in a newspaper interview published Friday.
Since the kidnappings really took off in southern Nigeria 18 months ago, some 200 foreigners have been abducted. Most have been released unharmed after a few days or a few weeks in captivity.
AFP 15 1324 GMT 06 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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