Unidentified gunmen in Nigeria’s restive south have hijacked an oil-services vessel carrying 11 crew members, the military said on Wednesday.
The hijackers are demanding about $250 000 for the release of the boat and the crew, including one Portuguese and one Ukrainian, according to military spokesperson Major Sagir Musa.
The boat, used for maintaining oil infrastructure in Africa’s biggest petroleum producer, was taken on Tuesday, Musa said. The situation remained unresolved on Wednesday in the southern Niger Delta, he said, giving no further details.
Numerous armed militant and criminal groups roam the vast delta region of creeks, swamps and rivers but few roads. Militants frequently blow up oil infrastructure or attack security forces to press demands for more oil-industry revenues for their impoverished region.
But criminality is closely linked to militancy, and most armed groups are presumed to steal crude oil from pipelines for overseas resale, often with complicity from corrupt government officials.
Piracy, which is broadly defined as any waterborne crime, is also rampant and Nigeria’s maritime areas are now the most pirate-infested on the globe.
Over 150 foreigners were kidnapped for ransom in the region in 2007 alone. The hostages are normally released unharmed after payment is delivered, although several have been killed or injured during botched seizures or rescue attempts.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer, but incessant pipeline bombings and other attacks have cut output by nearly one quarter, helping push crude prices to historical highs on international markets. — Sapa-AP