Nigerian militants say Lebanese hostage escaped

ABUJA, Feb 22 (Reuters) A Lebanese hostage escaped from his captors in the remote creeks of Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta and was not freed as his employer had said, a militant group said today.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which had been holding the employee of Agip since December. 7, said the Italian oil firm and local authorities who helped him escape on Wednesday would ''pay a hefty price for this slight''.

''This escape plan, our investigations reveal, was hatched by the Bayelsa state government and partly funded by Agip. (The hostage) was taken from the camp to a nearby boat stationed by the Bayelsa state government,'' MEND said in a statement.

The group is still holding two Italian employees of Agip who were seized during the same December. 7 raid. MEND said the Italians were under close watch and would not be released until May at the earliest.

The group said some of the men guarding the hostages were paid as much as 200 million naira to help them escape and were also offered contracts in Bayelsa state.

''All participants in this drama will pay a price according to individual level of involvement,'' MEND said.

The chief executive officer of ENI, Agip's parent company, had said on Wednesday that the Lebanese hostage had been freed.

A total of eight foreign hostages are being held by different armed groups in the Niger Delta, where a wave of attacks on the oil industry has shut down a fifth of Nigeria's output and caused thousands of expatriate workers to flee.

REUTERS BDP PM1916