MEND releases pics of hostages

2009-01-12 08:44

Lagos - Nigeria's main militant group released pictures of two British hostages it has been holding for four months on Sunday and said it would continue to kidnap European and US oil workers to push its demands.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in an e-mailed statement that the two Britons, whom it named as Robin Barry Hughes and Matthew John Maguire, were alive and well and attached what it said were recent pictures.

It repeated earlier warnings that it would hold the men until Henry Okah, the leader of MEND who is on trial for gun-running and treason, was released. Okah's lawyers say he is in urgent need of medical treatment for a kidney ailment.

"We intend to hold on to (the Britons) for as long as a very sick and dying Henry Okah is held hostage by the Nigerian state. Since their fate is now tied to his, God forbid that Henry Okah should die in detention," the e-mail said.

The photos showed the two hostages wearing shorts and flip-flops in what appeared to be a makeshift settlement in a clearing in thick forest. Both looked tired but had no visible signs of serious illness or injury.

"We call again for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages," a spokeswoman for the British High Commission in the capital Abuja said.

Hundreds of foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, since MEND launched a campaign of violence in early 2006 to push for what they consider to be a fairer share of the profits from crude oil extraction.

"Our policy on kidnapping high-value oil workers from Western Europe and North America remains unchanged and will continue to form an integral part of our pressure strategy in the emancipation struggle in 2009," MEND said.

Criminal networks have taken advantage of the insecurity in the delta's mangrove creeks to carry out kidnappings and hijackings for ransom. Most hostages have been released unharmed and relatively quickly after a financial settlement.

But the two Britons have been held for far longer than most.

They were first kidnapped on September 9 with two South Africans, a Ukrainian and more than 20 Nigerians when their oil supply vessel was hijacked.

MEND said a few weeks later it had "rescued" all of them from their original captors. It has since released the South Africans, the Ukrainian and the Nigerians but said it was holding on to the Britons as "leverage".

The group has in the past used the British hostages to warn the British government against offering any training or equipment to the Nigerian armed forces.

Britain, like other foreign countries, has a long history of joint training exercises with the Nigerian military. The British government said last July it would send experts to help train Nigerian soldiers in the delta.

MEND's campaign of violence, which has included blowing up oil pipelines and attacking installations on and off-shore, has cut Nigeria's oil output by around a fifth in recent years.

Industry executives say the insecurity in the OPEC member state is a major disincentive to further investment in the oil and gas sector.

- Reuters