The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most prominent militant group in Niger Delta, said in a statement received here Monday night that it was not involved in the incident involving the kidnapping of a Lebanese citizen in southern Nigeria.
"MEND will assist the victim's employers to rescue and return him unharmed by locating and negotiating with his abductors," said the statement sent by e-mail and signed with the group 's spokesperson with an alias "Jomo Gbomo".
The group also repeated in the statement its demand to Nigerian government to fairly treat its leader, Henry Okah, who was arrested in Angolan capital Luanda in September 2007.
Agencies reported that a Lebanese man was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on Monday morning in Port Harcourt, the capital city and oil center of Nigeria's southeastern Rivers State.
The reports quoted Nigerian police spokesperson in Rivers state as saying that the man was seized at about 11:00 a.m. (2200 GMT) local time when he was working on a road project outside Port Harcourt, the capital city of Nigeria's southeastern Rivers State.
The Lebanese, employee of a large construction company whose name is withheld for security reasons, was kidnapped on his way to the neighboring Bayelsa State, also belong to oil-rich Niger Delta, security sources further disclosed.
No group has claimed the responsibility for the event by now.
Kidnappings are common in Nigeria's restive Niger Delta region, in which militants and criminals take hostages either for particular political reason or simply for ransom.
Since the beginning of 2006, more than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped by a mixture of militant operations and criminal activities, most of who were released unharmed.
But the militancy and criminal activities have crippled Nigeria's oil production, which has dropped by 25 percent compared with its peak production of 2.6 million barrels per day, as well, people's normal life and daily business have also been stalled to some extend since then.
Source:Xinhua
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