MILITANT youths in Nigeria’s volatile oil-producing Niger Delta abducted five Royal Dutch/Shell workers and released them 24 hours later, company officials said on Thursday. The workers were abducted on Wednesday along with two navy escorts from Shell’s Opuama flow station in southern Delta State, the officials said. “All the hostages were released this [Thursday] morning,” Shell spokesman Precious Omoku said. Shell, which pumps about half of Nigeria’s oil, has been a victim of attacks on its installations by militant groups demanding a greater share of the Niger Delta’s oil wealth.