Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.

Oil Hostages Released in Nigeria
--------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=11876AA:3919ACA Two Americans and
a Briton handed over to Governor of Nigeria's southern Delta State
after five weeks in captivity Nigerian militants have released three
Western hostages held in the troubled Niger Delta for more than a
month. The government is now under pressure to act promptly, to avert
another abduction.



Monday, State-owned radio reported the release of the hostages,
including two Americans and a Briton, after five weeks in captivity.



Radio Nigeria says the three men were handed over to Governor James
Ibori of Nigeria's southern Delta State by an ethnic Ijaw leader,
Edwin Clark.



Officials say the men were in good health and had been handed over to
Shell, their employer.



The three hostages were abducted along with six others on February 18.



The militants had demanded a greater share of oil revenues, the
release of two jailed leaders from the region and compensation for oil
pollution, as conditions for releasing the hostages. The government
says no ransom was paid.



The involvement of leading ethnic Ijaw leaders in the negotiations
eventually led to the release of the three men.



Mike Ekamon, a Niger Delta activist and head of the Supreme Niger
Delta Youth Council non-governmental group, pays tribute to efforts of
the region's leaders.



"The governments themselves must realize that the people are wallowing
in abject poverty while even the expatriates come to extort and equip
where they come from," he said. "So, we are happy our leaders, our
traditional rulers, our governors, our national assembly members, our
politicians have made it possible for peace to reign in the Niger
Delta."



The ongoing violence in the delta has also affected electric power
generation in Nigeria, leading to prolonged outages in several parts
of the country.



A quarter of Nigeria's 2.4-million barrels per day output is shut down
because of attacks by militants on oil infrastructure.



Ekamon says the government has to move quickly to address the
grievances toward oil communities or else another hostage taking is
inevitable.



"It might not be the last. In as much as we are not encouraging it to
happen again, were saying that fast steps should be taken to listen to
the people of Niger Delta, especially the youths. Create youth
empowerment programs. Listen to the people. We can no more farm again.
We can no more fish again. Let the government do things… NDDC [Niger
Delta Development Corporation] is not enough. Do something that will
quiten the people," he added.



The release of the three hostages has raised hopes for an end to
recent violence in the delta.



But analysts say much will depend on the government's response. The
United States and Britain had promised high-level intervention to
address the long-standing grievances of Nigeria's oil producing
communities, if they avoid further hostage taking.



Some 20 million people live in poverty, alongside the multi-billion
dollar oil industry in Nigeria.

Shell says it will not resume normal oil production in Nigeria until
it is safe to do so.