Nigerian rebels fail to release hostages on time

ABUJA, May 31 (Reuters) Nigerian rebels from the oil-producing Niger Delta who had promised to release six foreign hostages on May 30 have yet to do so and have not given any explanation for the delay.

Fighters from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) seized the four Italians, one American and one Croat on May 1 from an offshore oil platform operated by US major Chevron.

They said at the time they wanted to embarrass outgoing president Olusegun Obasanjo before he stepped down on May 29. Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn in as the new president of Africa's top oil exporter that day.

The MEND spokesman, who uses the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo, said in a series of emails yesterday that the group still planned to release its six captives, today morning there was no news of them and no word from Gbomo.

The last time Gbomo was coordinating a release of foreign hostages, it was delayed for about two days because of the logistical problems associated with extracting the foreigners from the mangrove-lined creeks of the anarchic delta.

The MEND, which emerged in late 2005, was responsible for a series of attacks on oil production facilities that have cut Nigerian output by over a quarter. The supply disruptions in the world's eighth-biggest exporter have pushed up world oil prices.

The MEND demands regional control over oil revenues, compensation from companies for oil spills and freedom for a politician and a militant leader from the region who are both in detention in the capital Abuja.

But the militant movement in the Niger Delta has splintered and the MEND has gone public with disagreements it has with other armed groups who have seized hostages.

This week, Gbomo has accused kidnappers who seized four Americans from a Chevron barge of acting on behalf of crooked politicians. The four were released yesterday night.

Gbomo has also hinted that his fighters were involved in a gunbattle with other militia men earlier this week in which a prominent gang leader was killed. He said in an email to Reuters the militia men were criminals who were undermining the cause.

Such rivalries between armed groups further complicate an already intractable situation in the delta, where violence is rooted in decades of neglect by corrupt government officials.

Some attacks and kidnappings are to press demands such as greater access to oil wealth by those who live near the oilwells, but most of the violence is motivated by money.

Ransom-seekers make big profits from kidnapping expatriates, smugglers get rich in a dangerous trade in stolen crude, while politicians pay and arm youths to maintain their grip on power.

REUTERS NC BD1852