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June 26, 2006
Filipino oilmen freed in Nigeria
Two Filipino oil workers have been released after being held for five days in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta.
Six gunmen in a speedboat seized the two near the south-eastern city of Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
It is the latest in a string of abductions and assaults on foreign oil workers in the region by militants, who want more local control of oil wealth.
It has led to a 25% cut in Nigeria's oil production - a key factor in the high world price of crude oil.
A local official said the contract workers for Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) were released on Sunday in good health and taken to Port Harcourt.
The Niger Delta is home to Nigeria's oil industry, but there is widespread poverty and numerous armed militia groups which operate in the area.
One group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), says it is fighting for greater local control of the oil revenues and compensation from oil companies for pollution in the Delta.
The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says in most previous cases armed groups have taken hostages to extort money from oil companies and the government. Details of payments are never released.
Posted by Publisher at June 26, 2006 04:28 PM
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