A Nigerian former militia leader whose
release has raised hopes of improved
security in the oil-producing Niger
Delta has pledged to continue his
struggle for local control of oil
wealth but not in a criminal way.
The situation in the region remains
volatile despite the release of
Mujahid Dokubo-Asari on Thursday. Two
Lebanese construction workers were
kidnapped early on Friday in Delta
state in the western delta, a military
spokesperson said.
In his first comments after being
freed on bail, Asari said he remained
committed to "the right of our
people to take that which belongs to
them", a reference to oil
revenues that have done little for
poor delta residents.
'But I want to assure you that I will
never give up the struggle'
"I will not use any means that
will be criminal, that will be
counter-productive to the environment
and the health of our people,"
Asari said in Nigerian video footage
obtained by Reuters on Friday.
"But I want to assure you that I
will never give up the struggle,"
he said.
Asari, the former leader of the rebel
Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force
which laid down arms in late 2004, was
arrested in September 2005 and charged
with treason. His trial has dragged on
from one adjournment to the next.
His release was one of the main
demands of armed groups whose 18-month
campaign of pipeline bombings and
abductions of foreign workers has
crippled the Nigerian oil industry.
Output from Nigeria, the world's
eighth-biggest exporter, is currently
down by more than 650 000 barrels per
day or a quarter. The disruption has
pushed up international oil prices.
Militants also want local control over
oil revenues, which they say have been
squandered or stolen for five decades
to the detriment of delta communities
who live in poverty with no clean
water, electricity, functioning
clinics or schools.
Newly inaugurated President Umaru
Yar'Adua has made overtures towards
the rebels, who interpreted the
release of Asari as a political
decision to appease them.
Militants have released 19 hostages
since Yar'Adua was sworn in on May 29
and one of the most active groups, the
Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta (Mend), has declared a
one-month truce while it assesses
Yar'Adua's intentions.
But there is still considerable
insecurity in the delta. Friday's
abduction of two Lebanese staff of
Italian firm Stabilini took to 22 the
number of foreign hostages in the
delta, and on Tuesday eight people
were killed by troops during a
gunfight with rebels near an
Italian-operated oilfield.
Asari, a fiery orator who during court
appearances would frequently insult
the judge and rail against the
"satanic" government,
appeared calm when he emerged from
police headquarters late on Thursday
and his tone was moderate.
He said his weight had fallen from
139kg to 87kg in detention but he
refrained from blaming the State
Security Services, whom he had
previously accused of ill-treatment.
"I am happy that an Ijaw man is
the vice president and I will work
with him in the best way I can,"
he said, referring to newly
inaugurated Vice President Goodluck
Jonathan, a member of Asari's ethnic
group that is the most populous in the
delta.
Aides to Jonathan and Asari said the
two were meeting in the capital Abuja
on Friday. Asari is expected to return
home to Port Harcourt on Saturday
before flying abroad for medical
checks early next week.
Additional reporting by Kingsley Igwe
in Lagos and Tom Ashby in Abuja