Gunmen in Nigeria have attacked an offshore oil rig operated by exploration firm Afren, kidnapping five crew members including foreigners and injuring two others, the company said on Monday.
Nigeria's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), made no immediate claim of responsibility but threatened to carry out new attacks on oil infrastructure in Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
The attack took place on Sunday in the shallow-water Okoro oilfield off the Obolo local government area of Akwa Ibom.
"Two crew members are stable after receiving wounds to the leg, and have been evacuated by helicopter to a shore-based clinic. It is believed that five crew members have been taken hostage," Afren said in a statement.
A security source in Nigeria said those kidnapped were believed to be two French nationals, two U.S. citizens and one Canadian national, though there was no confirmation of this from the security services or Afren.
Afren said the High Island VII jackup rig had recently arrived in the Okoro field and was preparing to begin drilling. It said drilling activities were temporarily suspended. Afren shares were down more than 8 percent in London.
The company said there had been a second security breach at a support vessel but that both the rig and the vessel were now under its control.
Akwa Ibom lies on the edge of the Niger Delta, a vast wetlands region home to foreign oil firms whose infrastructure had been repeatedly attacked for years until an amnesty was agreed last year.
MEND said in a statement emailed to media on Monday that it would launch a series of attacks on oil infrastructure in the coming days. It also said it was holding one Thai and three French nationals who were kidnapped several weeks ago and had since been transferred to its custody.
Thousands of gunmen laid down their weapons under the amnesty deal brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan last year, including the main known field commanders of MEND.
But the militants were always highly factionalised and some armed gangs with grievances against foreign oil firms remain active, security sources say.
A resurgence of violence in the Niger Delta would be an embarrassment for Jonathan, who is the first Nigerian head of state from the Niger Delta and who faces a tough battle in presidential elections expected next April.
REUTERS
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Posted: at 8-11-2010 07:28 PM (14 years ago) | Addicted Hero
don't worry the Canadian will be be fine this is just for ransom....they will not kill any of them,and the have not been killing those that were kidnap before
Posted: at 9-11-2010 12:08 AM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
livingday at 9-11-2010 02:29 AM (14 years ago) (m)
This goes to show that elements of MEND are hardcore criminals intent on bringing down Jonathan. Who would want a president that cannot deal decisively once and for all with faceless criminals hiding in the creek thinking they can hold the nation hostage? It time to mobilise the military & special forces to cut the head of this snake.
Posted: at 9-11-2010 02:29 AM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Commonsense at 9-11-2010 02:59 AM (14 years ago) (m)
Quote from: livingday on 9-11-2010 02:29 AM
This goes to show that elements of MEND are hardcore criminals intent on bringing down Jonathan. Who would want a president that cannot deal decisively once and for all with faceless criminals hiding in the creek thinking they can hold the nation hostage? It time to mobilise the military & special forces to cut the head of this snake.
I don't understand what you mean by ''who would want a president that cannot deal decisively.....'' If you read the post carefully you will understand that President Jonathan is trying his best, he brought about the amnesty which the original MEND is committed to. In all associations there are always factions, MEND has illegal factions and they are the one causing all these problems. Militants anywhere in the world are not easy to deal with, it's a gradual thing. Remember that the Niger Delta problem did not start today, that was why former military President Abacha killed Ken Saro Wiwa illegaly and still the problem continued. The main solution to this problem is to have credible and corrupt free forces on ground with matching weapons to counter the insurgents. These criminals are highly equipped and need a higher hardware and technological arsenal to be defeated.
Posted: at 9-11-2010 02:59 AM (14 years ago) | Upcoming
This goes to show that elements of MEND are hardcore criminals intent on bringing down Jonathan. Who would want a president that cannot deal decisively once and for all with faceless criminals hiding in the creek thinking they can hold the nation hostage? It time to mobilise the military & special forces to cut the head of this snake.
even you, you are just a jobless criminal, area boy like you, maybe you go and get your dad,bitch mom and all the members of your family,to go and uproot them over there in creek' the problem of some us Nigerian youth is just that we never think properly to know why we are suffering today and you don't do that today the problem will just remain there for our next generation and the so call our leaders of today will not be affected cos they have looted for there next coming generation that they don't even know how wicked the are going to be, ask your selfe this question today why do we have militant in Nigeria today.....mumu
Posted: at 9-11-2010 03:50 AM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
This goes to show that elements of MEND are hardcore criminals intent on bringing down Jonathan. Who would want a president that cannot deal decisively once and for all with faceless criminals hiding in the creek thinking they can hold the nation hostage? It time to mobilise the military & special forces to cut the head of this snake.
I don't understand what you mean by ''who would want a president that cannot deal decisively.....'' If you read the post carefully you will understand that President Jonathan is trying his best, he brought about the amnesty which the original MEND is committed to. In all associations there are always factions, MEND has illegal factions and they are the one causing all these problems. Militants anywhere in the world are not easy to deal with, it's a gradual thing. Remember that the Niger Delta problem did not start today, that was why former military President Abacha killed Ken Saro Wiwa illegaly and still the problem continued. The main solution to this problem is to have credible and corrupt free forces on ground with matching weapons to counter the insurgents. These criminals are highly equipped and need a higher hardware and technological arsenal to be defeated.
commonsense i called you by ur name,, do you think you have applied any commonsense in this ur comment???
Posted: at 9-11-2010 04:05 AM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
you this my bad pikin , you are becomming really very bad these days so , you just take a look at the rubbish you put down now ,are you too member of those criminal group or just a sypatizer with them ? no one sympatize with the criminal except he or she too a criminal , so you better think deep and behave responsible , other wise you will be inviting some problem that you will not able to cope with
Posted: at 9-11-2010 07:03 AM (14 years ago) | Grande Master
militants on it again, when will all this bruhaha stops.
yes ooh it will stop our leaders develop nija delta
do they , militants ever allowed any developements to take place there ? another more sensible leader will emerge very soon that will handle them with a iron hands , those criminal don,t deserved any mercy at all , and need to be uprooted once and for all
Posted: at 9-11-2010 07:15 AM (14 years ago) | Grande Master
militants on it again, when will all this bruhaha stops.
yes ooh it will stop our leaders develop nija delta
do they , militants ever allowed any developements to take place there ? another more sensible leader will emerge very soon that will handle them with a iron hands , those criminal don,t deserved any mercy at all , and need to be uprooted once and for all
my little boy those guys are fighting our selfish leaders ,if you call them criminals ,what will you call somebody like IBB and his cacuse just tell me how many people do think IBB killed during his regime,and how many have been suffring sence then,and he still have the impetus to run for 2011 presidential eletion and yet nobody is saying anything about him,all the same all i know is that IBB is the most creminal nigeria has ever witness.....so don't talk much about mend...and am also sure that you are jobless today cos of the same past leaders also
Posted: at 9-11-2010 07:55 AM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
tambeiort at 9-11-2010 09:44 AM (14 years ago) (m)
can somebody tell me wat happen to d amnesty stuff? are they not being paid their allowances or what? mr President need to answer this b4 2011 election.
Posted: at 9-11-2010 09:44 AM (14 years ago) | Upcoming
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