No Mercy for Hostages
Government for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), yesterday spoke on the deteriorating health of the 10 Trans Coastal Corporation workers taken hostage in Sangana area of Brass local council of Bayelsa State.
This is as the whereabouts of the six Russian expatriate workers kidnapped by gunmen last weekend in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State remained unknown despite efforts to trace them.
Speaking on the deteriorating health of the 10 hostages who were kinapped over one week ago, MEND in a statement signed by its Bayelsa State Commander, Joshua Maciver and mailed to Daily Champion, vowed to deny the hostages any form of medical treatment, saying that the Federal Government has equally denied its leader, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari same.
The hostages, three Americans, four Britons, a South African, one Indian and a Nigerian who are workers of American oil service firm, Trans Coastal Corporation and a subsidiary of Conoil were kidnapped penultimate Friday off the Atlantic Coast of Sangana in the company's boat, and have since been in captivity.
The statement reads in part," Asari-Dokubo, the Ijaw Minority Rights Campaigner is on his sick bed, tortured, denied medical treatment and placed in solitary confinement, hence there will be no sympathy for any hostage in our custody as they will equally be denied of any medical attention."
The group has last week issued a three day ultimatum to the Federal Government to release Alhaji Dokubo or they will kill the oil workers; but its coordinator, Joshua Marver however stated with emphasis that the health of the hostages has worsened, but insisted that the group would make no effort to provide any medical facility to them.
"Dokubo is facing life threatening conditions that may lead to his premature death, if he is killed, the hostages will be killed," the statement declared.
MEND expressed dismay that help may be too late arriving the way of their leader to right the wrong, and insisted that the hostages must suffer the sane incarceration as Dokubo is currently undergoing in the hands of the security services and the Nigerian Government.
Disclosing that both government and the United Company, employers of the six kidnapped Russian expatriates have intensified effort to locate them, a statement by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm, Mr. Alexander Bulygin, expressed the organisation's condolence to the family of Mr. Imoh Akpan, the driver who lost his life in the attack.
"We will do our best to assure the fastest return of our colleagues and their relatives, who were kidnapped on Sunday morning at their residence situated within ALSCON township by a group, suspected to be Niger-Delta Militants," the statement added.
The company, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Power and Nigerian Authorities taking steps to unravel the rationale behind the mayhem and secure their release in line with order by Russian government, Vera Kurochkina, Deputy Chief Officer of corporate communications to Rusal said.
According to her, "The United company in cooperation with Russian and Nigerian state authorities is undertaking all possible measures to resolve the situation and free the hostages".
Meanwhile, Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio has cut short his trip to Abuja to attend to the development at home.
Akpabio, who was astonished on the wave of violence in the region in recent times described the attack as uncivilized and uncalled for, since the incoming administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua had pledged its commitment to redress the trend and give the Niger Delta region the priority it deserves.
He maintained that the newly South-South governors were truly committed to doing everything within their power to ensure even development, peace and stability in the region.
While appealing to those responsible for the kidnapping to release the expatriates unharmed, he urged the perpetrators to refrain from engaging in criminal activities that could negate the on-going struggle by governments to develop the Niger Delta region.
Said he, "Without peace, security and social stability, there can be no development as investor-confidence wane with every incident of kidnapping, thereby scaring away prospective sources of socio-economic transformation.
"We just must adopt a better approach to making our grievances known" adding that, social dynamics have shown that dialogue still remain the civilized and most acceptable way of providing answers to developmental questions.
Meanwhile, no group among the confederation of Niger Delta militants has claimed responsibility for the attack but the governor said that, his administration was making well coordinated efforts to ensure unconditional release of the expatriates.
Prepare for long strike, NLC tells Nigerians
The Nigeria Labour Congress on Wednesday said that it would soon embark on a long and total industrial action.
It, therefore, advised Nigerians to start stockpiling essential items like food and make bank transactions from Friday (tomorrow).
The congress had last week given the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to reverse the new price of fuel and the new Value Added Tax.
It also wants the sale of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries by the Bureau of Public Enterprises to be cancelled.
The ultimatum ends on June 18.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the NLC President, Mr. Abdulwaheed Omar, said the union had met with various segments of the society to ensure the success of the strike.
All trade unions, according to him, had already been directed to begin mass mobilisation of their members.
Omar added that if the government failed to meet the deadline, the National Executive Council of the NLC would meet to announce a date for the commencement of the strike.
He directed all the state councils of the congress to also begin the mobilisation of workers, the informal sector and the populace, including students.
The NLC president said, ”We have in the last 48 hours received messages of solidarity from many delegations from various segments of society, including market people, the self-employed, some faith-based organisations, the civil society coalition and workers.”
He regretted that the Presidency had not acknowledged a letter the union sent to it on the matter.
Omar added that the NLC was convinced that it would have a long-drawn battle with the government to correct some of the wrongs perpetrated by the immediate past administration.
He said, “Ordinarily, we should not have given a long ultimatum to the government to retrace its steps. But we thought that the government is new and would need to settle down.
“We had even prevailed on some of our people not to begin protests. But we might be wrong after all as the government has not deemed it fit to even acknowledge our letter.”
The union leader lamented that the increase in VAT from five to 10 per cent and price of fuel from N65 to N75 had led to a sharp rise in the cost of transportation, foodstuffs , manufactured goods and services.
He appealed to the National Assembly to intervene in the matter by asking the Presidency to reverse the increases and ensure the implementation of the 15 per cent wage increase by the immediate past administration.
Omar said, ”The new National Assembly‘s task is made easier by the fact that the bill on the increase in VAT had been rejected by its predecessor only for it (new VAT) to be imposed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“Secondly, our laws say any increase in the prices of petroleum products must pass through the processes of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency. This was not done. In fact, no meeting of the PPPRA was convened to discuss price increase.”
Yar’Adua gives condition for Dokubo’s release
President Umaru Musa Yar‘Adua has demanded an undertaking from Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders of the Niger Delta region before he can release the detained leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujarheedin Asari-Dokubo.
Our correspondent learnt that Yar‘Adua also insisted on an undertaking from the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Timipre Sylva-Sam, that Dokubo would not breach the peace again after his release.
Findings by our correspondent revealed that Yar‘Adua said a former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, should be one of the Ijaw leaders to guarantee that Dokubo would be of good behaviour.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered the arrest of Dokubo in 2005 and he is currently facing treason charges in a Federal High Court, Abuja.
Leaders and youths of the region have consistently demanded an unconditional release of Dokubo as a panacea for peace in the region.
Various militant groups in the region, especially the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, also insisted that there would be no peace until Dokubo regained freedom.
Our correspondent learnt that Yar‘Adua at a meeting with Silva-Sam and his colleagues from Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; and Rivers State, Mr. Celestine Omehia, in Abuja on Monday, expressed worries that Dokubo might resume hostility with the Federal Government and oil multinationals after regaining freedom.
A reliable source told our correspondent in Warri, on Wednesday that Yar‘Adua was favourably disposed to the release of Dokubo to restore a lasting peace to the troubled region.
Our source said Monday‘s meeting ended with a directive to Jonathan and the governors to meet Dokubo and discuss the conditions for his release with him.
Yar‘Adua, according to our source, said he expected a written undertaking signed by Jonathan, and other leaders of the region later.
However, Dokubo‘s lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, said he had heard about the position of President Yar‘Adua on the fate of his client.
He added that he was not in a position to confirm or deny the report since he was not invited to the meeting.
Meanwhile, Yar’Adua has also directed the governors of Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers states to find a lasting solution to the problem of hostage-taking and other criminal activities in the region.
Uduaghan disclosed this at a press conference in Warri on Wednesday.
He said the President directed them to work together to restore sanity in the troubled region.
Consequently, Uduaghan said the three governors had been meeting and deliberating on the problem in compliance with the presidential directive.
No comments:
Post a Comment