NIGERIA: Governor Timipre Sylva of Nigeria's oil-rich Bayelsa state addresses foreign hostages upon their release

All seven hostages seized by gunmen from an offshore Nigerian oilfield were released on Monday (October 22) after two days in captivity, a state government spokesman said. The four Nigerians, a Briton, a Russian and a Croat were all in good health. The attack on Shell's EA field was the first big raid on an oil facility since President Umaru Yar'Adua took office in May and the government worked fast to ensure it did not derail a nascent peace initiative in Africa's top oil producing region. The attack had no immediate impact on oil output because the field was halted after an earlier militant attack in February 2006. It had been expected to resume production of 115,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the middle of next year. Addressing the released hostages Governor Timipre Sylva of the oil-rich Bayelsa state tells the released hostages to go back to their platform and work he also said this will be the end of the hostage taking in the state, because it's no more in vogue. "When things are going out of fashion you don't expect it to stop abruptly, it haphazard out, the incident becomes fewer and fewer and right now I think it will never happen again, I would like you to go back to EA to your platform and start work" he told the released hostages A spokesman for a prominent militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), claimed responsibility for the abduction. However, industry and security sources said the claim did not ring true. It was more likely an attempt by a delta warlord to gain relevance with local authorities, they said. The line between militancy and crime is blurred in the impoverished delta, a vast area of mangrove-lined creeks and swamp. Militants also engage in crime, often in cahoots with government officials, civil society groups say. More than 250 foreign workers have been kidnapped over the past two years and almost all have been released after payment of ransom.

ITN Source | October 24, 2007

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