Militants in Niger Delta seize ransom
A Nigerian militant group says it has seized more than $500,000 in cash sent to secure the release of kidnapped oil workers in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
Four employees of the Italian Agip oil firm were seized a month ago by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend).
But the group says they are demanding the release of four people in jail, including a regional seperatist leader.
Mend say they are fighting to ensure local people benefit from oil revenues.
The case is the latest in a series of kidnappings of foreign oil workers in the Niger Delta.
The world’s eighth biggest exporter of crude has been losing more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day since February last year when militants demanding greater local control of oil wealth staged a series of raids on the industry.
Local criminals have also attacked oil facilities and kidnapped oil workers to obtain ransom money.
“As earlier stated, the hostages will only be exchanged. There will be no negotiations,” Mend said in a statement, AFP news agency reports.
The group demands the release of militant leader Mujahid Dokubo Asari, held on treason charges and former Bayelsa state governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, accused of corruption.
“There have been no meetings whatsoever with the Bayelsa government, Agip or any other parties towards the release of the hostages,” the statement continued.
The BBC’s Alex Last in Lagos says Mend is an umbrella organisation that uses different armed gangs to carry out its attacks.
When not working as militants, the gunmen are often involved in kidnapping for ransom, work for local politicians or involved in the lucrative industry of stealing and smuggling vast amounts of crude oil.