Niger Delta gunmen have released three Dutch nationals who
were abducted a week earlier, the Dutch foreign ministry confirmed on Sunday.
"I can confirm they have been freed," said ministry spokesman,
Johanne Doornewaard, adding that they were in good health.
He added that he had "no information" on whether
any ransom was paid for the release of the trio. Earlier a Nigerian activist
who had accompanied the trio had announced their release.
Amsterdam-based environmental activist, Sunny Ofehe and the
two Dutch men and one woman, were seized last Sunday after armed men in a
dinghy stormed their boat. The group, which included another Netherlands-based
Nigerian, were blindfolded and eventually taken to an unknown location where
the two Nigerians were released.
"I just want to inform everyone that they are free, and
that they are safe and in good health," Ofehe told Dutch broadcaster NOS
TV. The Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said the released hostages were still
in Nigeria and that the Dutch ambassador had been sent to the Delta region to
meet them.
Scores of foreigners have been abducted in the southern
Niger Delta region, home to Africa's largest oil industry, with many released
on payment of a ransom. Employees of foreign oil companies are required to have
an armed escort when travelling in the Delta, but international journalists,
aid workers and others typically avoid taking a security detail.
Dutch printing company Gerrits & Leffers had confirmed
that two of its employees were among those abducted and that the pair were in
Nigeria to help Niger Delta peace activists publish a magazine.The third Dutch
national was a documentary filmmaker, NOS TV reported, and the group was en
route to visit a hospital financed by oil company Chevron when the kidnapping took
place.
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