Nigerian militants who kidnapped four foreign oil workers a week ago have dropped a Thursday deadline for their demands to be met, they say.
They say the four – from the UK, US, Honduras and Bulgaria – will not be harmed unless the authorities try to rescue them, Reuters reports.
They also say that they do not want money but insist that two ethnic Ijaw leaders be freed from custody.
The kidnapping and attacks on oil platforms have pushed up oil prices.
On Wednesday, the previously unknown Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it had attacked platforms run by the Total and Agip oil firms, in addition to their original attacks on Shell installations.
Both companies have denied the claims.
President Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed to the kidnappers to “not to do anything that might result in the loss of lives” and has set up a committee to work for their “prompt release”.
Instability
“Please disregard any deadlines given on account of the hostages. We have no intention of harming them,” the militant group said in an e-mail to Reuters.
“This of course is dependent on the actions of the Nigerian government. They may wish to use this situation to train on hostage rescue. In that instance the safety of the hostages cannot be guaranteed.”
The group want local Ijaw people to benefit more from the region’s oil wealth and are demanding the release of separatist leader Mujahid Dokubu Asari, being held on treason charges, as well as former governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, accused of corruption and money-laundering.
The group attacked a Royal Dutch Shell pumping station near the port of Warri over the weekend, prompting the oil giant to withdraw some 330 workers.
One catering contractor died and 10 Shell workers were injured in the attack. An army spokesman said five soldiers were killed and nine were missing.
On Tuesday, President Obasanjo met high-level security chiefs and political leaders in an effort to halt attacks on oil facilities and to secure the release of the oil workers.
“A small committee has been set up to procure a political solution to the problem there. It’s better to get to the underlying causes for the crisis, rather than engaging in any confrontation,” Information Minister Frank Nweke told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.
The instability has led to a 10% fall in Nigeria’s oil production. The country is Africa’s leading oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of US oil imports.
In a telephone call to the Reuters news agency on Monday, a man identifying himself as US citizen Patrick Landry said “these people are treating me good, but the climate is not what it should be”.
The kidnappings are the latest in a string of violent incidents in the troubled region.