Nigeria: new kidnapping at the Niger Delta

By on September 28, 2010
Admiral Edouard Guillaud, Chief of Staff of the French armed forces, described as an act of “tribal-mafia piracy” the kidnapping of the three French sailors off the coast of Nigeria. The Admiral was arguing that “if these countries were able to ensure a minimum growth, people would not need to have this kind of activity”.

For its part, the main rebel movement in southern Nigeria, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said it had lost contact with the kidnappers. The hostages were “moved to an unknown destination”, the statement from the rebel group said. The MEND, calling for a better redistribution in the Niger Delta, for the wealth generated by oil and gas produced in the region, claimed in the past several kidnappings of oil workers and attacks on oil installations. But the MEND has renounced to violence after an amnesty agreement with the federal government of the former President Umaru Yar’Adua, who died on May the 5TH. The kidnapping of the three French crew members was announced by the French Marine Services’ group, the Bourbon, operator of the boat, and confirmed by the French foreign Ministry. Hundreds of people, mostly related to the oil sector, have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta in recent years by armed groups. In the vast majority of the cases, the kidnapped persons were released against payment of a ransom.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.