A former Nigerian 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.
”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.
Peace moves
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, 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.
”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. — Reuters