One Dead, as Pirates Abduct 14 Expatriates

The bad days seem to be here again as sea piracy resurfaced in Rivers State with the killing of an unidentified foreign sea farer and kidnapping of 14 others on board two cargo vessels, one of which was identified as BBC Palonia.
The attack was reported by the Nigerian navy from their NNS Pathfinder control base whose Commander, Commodore Umar Ahmed and the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Dr. Rita Abbey confirmed. It allegedly took place yesterday at the Bonny Fairbouy, some nautical miles from Bonny jetty.
The crew members taken hostage were described as “mainly Eastern Europeans” though the Navy and the Police assured that the victims have already mobilised to ensure that they were freed expeditiously.


However, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack: which took place at 1800hrs.
“Commander Navy Pathfinder informed (Police) Command that on 2/7/2010 that pirates attacked Cargo Vessel BBC Palonia and one other at about 6 pm, from South of Bonny FWB.
“The crew is eastern European. One confirmed shot dead, others taken hostage. Nigerian Navy already deployed from Bonny to investigate,” a confirmatory message from the police said.


http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=177418

Very unfortunate
I heard Timi Alaibe was attecked and his vehicle vandalised,he'd have been kidnapped if not for his security escort

whoever is holding this abducted 14 Expatriates should please release them , so that they can return to thier families and children. Please.

They have been released.

Foreign sailors kidnapped in Nigeria freed: military
By Susan Njanji (AFP) – 7 hours ago

LAGOS — A dozen foreign seafarers seized two days ago in Nigeria's restive oil rich Niger Delta were freed on Sunday, the military said, while three sailors taken hostage in May were also reportedly released.

"I can confirm to you they (12) have indeed been released. They are on their way to Bonny (main oil terminal in the Niger Delta) where their ship is anchored," Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Antigha, spokesman for a special security force deployed in the area, told AFP.

No-one claimed responsibility for the capture of the BBC Polonia, registered in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, and its multinational crew, including its 71-year-old German captain.

The main armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said told AFP it was "not involved in this attack but we are aware of the group that carried out the abduction".

Gunmen stormed the cargo vessel off the coast of southern Nigeria's Niger Delta late Friday, wounding one of the crew in a shoot-out and capturing the rest.

Security officials said they did not know who was behind the attack and abduction.

Navy spokesman, David Nabaida said the men were dropped off in a fishing trawler and the navy went to collect them.

"Our boats have gone to receive them from the fishing trawler. I don't know who is behind them, but I think it's one of the factions of the ex-militants," he said.

Germans and Russians were among the 12 seafarers captured in Friday's incident, during which a Ukrainian seaman was reportedly injured.

Hundreds of locals and foreigners have been abducted in the Niger Delta in recent years, against the backdrop of conflict in the oil-producing region where a government amnesty has failed to totally eliminate militancy.

Most hostages end up being freed after a few days or weeks, very often after a ransom is paid.

Two Russian sailors and a Lithuanian skipper captured in May in an attack on a Greek-owned ship off neighbouring Cameroon have meanwhile been freed in Nigeria, a Russian sailors' union and a Lithuanian shipping firm said.

Lithuania's foreign ministry confirmed that its citizen had been released and would soon return home.

Germany also confirmed that two of its citizens were among the 12 seafarers captured in Friday's incident.

Others on board included a number of Russians, a Latvian and a Lithuanian, who was identified by the Lithuanian government as Alexei Sysoi.

German officials refuted a suggestion by the Nigerian navy on Saturday that the ship was German-flagged, saying that it was not registered in that country.

MarineTraffic.com, a website that tracks ships' movements, reported that the BBC Polonia was en route to the Nigerian port of Onne, which is situated on the Bonny estuary in the Niger Delta.

Police spokeswoman for Rivers, the main oil producing state in the Niger Delta, Rita Abbey said security forces suspect Friday's attack was the work of a group led by Farah Dagogo, a former MEND commander who surrendered under a 2009 government amnesty.

But Antigha, of the special security force, said he had no idea who was behind the incident. He added: "We are sure that in a short time, we should be able to be clear about who" was holding them.

^^^
Link please(_{great news though if confirmed})

Confirmed,the hostages have been released.Thank God

Gunmen release foreign hostages, search continues for others

http://ww2.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15910:gunmen-release-foreign-hostages-search-continues-for-others&catid=1:national&Itemid=559