The six Filipino seamen who were abducted along the Bonny River in Nigeria’s Niger Delta oil region almost two weeks ago have been freed unharmed, a Nigerian military spokesman said Monday. Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force deployed to the violence-prone region, said the Filipinos were released by their captors last Thursday. No reason was given for the delay in announcing the release of the men. Sagir said he could not confirm whether or not any ransom was paid for the release of the foreigners, even though the task force insists on not paying ransom for any hostage. It was not known whether or not the Filipinos were kidnapped by the militants fighting for a better deal for the impoverished oil region, or those the government labelled as criminals, who engage in kidnapping to extort money from individuals and companies.
