Posted 10-5-08

Gunman in Nigeria Kidnap 6 in Oil Attack

(VOAnews) -- Gunmen in Nigeria have taken six Filipinos hostage after attacking their vessel near a key oil terminal in the south.

Authorities Saturday said armed men carried out the assault near the Bonny export terminal in the Niger Delta region.

Separately, Nigerian military officials said kidnappers today released a British man they captured in the Delta last month. They said no ransom was paid and that the man was released unharmed.

Militants have been attacking foreign oil installations in the Niger Delta since 2005, claiming they want local residents to get more of the region's oil wealth. But armed gangs also have carried out kidnappings for ransom.

This week, Nigeria's military said it arrested 400 suspected militants after a series of recent attacks. They said the raids were carried out near Port Harcourt, the country's oil industry hub.

The attacks have reduced Nigeria's oil output by more than 20 percent.

In a brief televised address to mark Nigeria's 48th independence anniversary, President Umaru Yar'Adua said he was committed to an infrastructural development plan to address the grievances of the Delta's impoverished communities, while continuing negotiations with those he described as major stakeholders.

"In order to properly focus our efforts at fashioning out a durable solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta region, we have sustained constructive engagement with the major stakeholders. More critically, we have set up a Niger Delta Ministry to anchor in a holistic manner, the execution of the Niger Delta Development Master Plan," said President Yar'Adua. "We are confident that this is the way to go in meaningfully addressing the physical infrastructure and human capital development challenges which the region presents."

Mr. Yar'Adua has failed to pacify the Niger Delta where attacks on oil industry targets continue unabated.

The government has announced several crackdowns on the violence. But the people of the Delta say they have seen many promises of development go unfulfilled, and the military response does not seem to be working.

Security forces have arrested hundreds of suspected insurgents in military raids that began last week after militants ended a string of attacks and declared a ceasefire September 21.

Buoyed by huge revenues from high international oil prices, President Yar'Adua says the Nigerian economy is on a sound footing.

"Fellow Nigerians, our economy is on a strong footing with an average growth rate of about 6.9 percent, a single digit inflation rate, external reserves of about $63 billion, and the Naira appreciating steadily against the major currencies," he added. "This is a consequence of our policies aimed at maintaining relative stability and predictability in Nigeria's macro-economic environment."

Sworn in 15 months ago pledging reforms and respect for the rule of law, Mr. Yar'Adua has struggled to deliver on his promises, in terms of better roads, better security and, most of all, more electricity.

With a population three times as big as South Africa, Nigeria has about 20 times less electricity.