Umbrella militant body for most of the armed groups in the Niger Delta, the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), has warned that hostages seized from Schlumberger compound on June 2, 2007, would not be released unless their leader, Alhaji Mujahid Asari
Dokubo is unconditionally set free. The militants, in a message sent online by their Spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, said they were predicating Asari’s unconditional release on the fact that he was not guilty of any crime before he was unduly incarcerated in solitary confinement.
They warned that they were not going to consider any monetary inducement or swap the request with another for the release of the hostages who the Movement of Niger Delta People (MONDP) had claimed responsibility for.
They said they were hoping that Yar’Adua would act in good faith and release their leader without attaching strings to it.
“On behalf of the Joint Revolutionary Council and its alliance members, we wish to announce that the following persons taken from the premises of Schlumberger Oilfield Services in the early hours of Saturday June 2, 2007, will not be released until our
request for the unconditional release of our patriotic
and esteemed leader is granted.
“The hostages are; James Thorburn (Edinburgh), Salman Anmad (Gojra), Janvande Mortel (The Hague), and Massoud Ahmadi (Paris – France).
“The current Leaders of the Nigerian state must show unwavering commitment to the unconditional release of the flag-bearer of the Ijaw and Niger Delta struggle. There will be no negotiation.
“We repeat, there will be no negotiation for the release of these hostages. Our only request is the unconditional release of Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari. We will reject in all fullness, any attempt by the Government of Yar’Adua to subject our leader to a conditional release, as he was not party to or guilty of any crime at the time of his arrest in September 2005,” they warned.
Jun82007