The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has announced the release of one Ukrainian and three Nigerian hostages, but said it would hold on to two Britons for as long as the Nigerian government detains its leader, Henry Okah. The statement on the release of the hostages was e-mail to journalists Sunday night. The freshly-released hostages were among the 2 Britons, 22 Nigerians, 2 South Africans and 1 Ukrainian who were rescued from the pirates who abducted them off a vessel, MT Blue Ocean, 9 September in Rivers state. On 5 Oct, MEND said it had released 19 Nigerian hostages, but were still keeping others, including the two British and 1 Ukrainian citizens ”due to the location where the expatriates were kept for their safety”. It was also believed that the three remaining Nigerians hostages remained the group’s custody until their release Sunday. On 18 Sept, MEND released the two South Africans among the hostages, following appeals from Azuka, wife of MEND leader Henry Okah, who lives in South Africa.
