British oil worker kidnapped

On 16 September 2008 five gunmen kidnapped a British oil worker in the southern city of Port Harcourt. Reports indicate that the hostage is a former employee of the Indo Rama petrochemical company. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, police officers believe that Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) militants perpetrated it. No further information regarding this development is available. In a separate development on 15 September, MEND announced that it will release two South African nationals as a sign of goodwill toward the South African government. The two victims were abducted on 9 September, along with two Britons, a Ukrainian and 22 Nigerian nationals when MEND hijacked their oil supply vessel; the whereabouts and well-being of the other hostages is still unknown. MEND apparently decided to release the South Africans after an appeal from the wife of Henry Okah, a warlord who commands loyalty from several of the Niger Delta's militant groups. Despite the announcement, tensions remain high. Meanwhile, MEND has carried out several successful attacks since it announced on 14 September that it will begin an "oil war" against all foreign oil facilities and personnel in the Niger Delta. On 16 September MEND claimed it had destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline at Bakana Front in Degema Local Government Area, Rivers State. MEND also apparently attacked the U.S. oil firm Chevron's Robertkiri facility in southern Rivers state; no injuries were reported and Chevron has stated that output at the facility has not been affected. In another attack, MEND killed one security guard and injured four others at Royal Dutch Shell's Alakiri flow station, also located in southern Rivers state. Militants gained access to the facility with speedboats, and seriously damaged the facility with explosives. Although the Nigerian army has claimed that it repelled the attack, Shell independently confirmed the incident, and stated that it will reduce personnel in the region as a precautionary measure.