FIVE South Koreans working for a conglomerate, Daewoo and Korea Gas Corporation, were kidnapped by militants yesterday. The militants who were heavily armed stormed the Cawthorne Channel Gas Plant, Degema, Rivers State, where they kidnapped the oil workers and allegedly killed four naval officers.
The whereabouts and condition of the abducted men: S.D. Kim, O.K. Kim, H.J. Kwon, A. Park and H.D. Kim as at press time remained unknown.
But in a statement made available to The Guardian through the Internet, a group, the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) comprising Martyrs Brigade, Movement for the Emancipation for Niger Delta (MEND) and Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), said the hostages would not be released except Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo and former Bayelsa State governor, D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha are set free.
The Joint Revolutionary Council spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, said: “This hostage situation is a response to the glaring insincerity of the Nigerian state and its judiciary to the illegal detention and trial of our esteemed and patriotic leader, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo. We will match insincerity with insincerity and then brute for brute.”
Whyte said in addition to the hostage-taking, a gunboat of the navy force, a houseboat and one working rig were destroyed.
“They will not be released except there is a hostage exchange with the release to us our esteemed and patriotic leader, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo and D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha. We do not and will not care about the well-being of these hostages anymore. We have lost our patience, goodwill and hospitality,” said Whyte.
A top management worker of Daewoo in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital who pleaded anonymity told The Guardian that heavily armed militants stormed the Cawthorne Channel Gas Plant at about 1 a.m. yesterday in 12 speed-boats and attacked the security men stationed at the project site.
Due to incessant cases of hostage-taking and destruction of oil facilities in the Niger Delta, the security agents comprising officers of the Navy and Police had suspected the invaders to be militants and so decided to open fire on them.
Unfortunately, they were overpowered by the superior firepower of the militants who in the process shot dead four naval personnel, and seriously injured two policemen.
Not done yet, the militants amid the pandemonium proceeded to take the five South Korean workers hostage and sped off into the dark creeks.
The militants also inflicted severe damage on the gas plant and destroyed a houseboat belonging to the company.
As at the time of filing in this report, the officer in charge of the security men and some of his men, according to a police source, have been declared missing.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) which awarded the multimillion project, which is in its final stage of completion to Daewoo, yesterday morning sent in helicopters to evacuate the remaining expatriates and Nigerians out of the Cawthorne Channel.
A source at Daewoo told The Guardian that the company had contacted relevant security agencies and Shell about the incident. He said the management of the company was very concerned about the safety of the hostages. According to him, nobody or group has formally contacted the company to explain the reason for the attack and kidnapping or claimed responsibility.
“There was no threat prior to yesterday’s action. We have been working there in the past four years and we have never had any misunderstanding with anyone in the area. This is the first time that we are experiencing this. We are very concerned about the safety of the men and are appealing for their release” he said.
Similarly, the Degema Local Government Chairman, Tony Philmoore, told The Guardian that he was making contact with relevant security agents and some persons to secure the release of the kidnapped Koreans. He confirmed that there were some casualties but could not ascertain the number.
“We are trying to know the whereabouts of the men. For now, all our efforts are concentrated on how to ensure the release of these innocent workers. We are working hard to ensure that they do not fall in harm’s way. We have got in touch with all relevant authorities that could assist in the release of the men. For now, nobody knows their whereabouts,” Philmoore said.
Just last Sunday, eight foreign oil workers kidnapped two days earlier by a group of militants were released.
The last weekend kidnap of these men rudely broke an almost two months’ old respite since the release of nine expatriate oil workers by a militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in the Niger Delta.
When The Guardian visited the South Korean Embassy in Abuja, yesterday, to seek its reaction to the alleged kidnap of some of its nationals by Niger Delta militants, the officials refused to give any comment.
The embassy premises in the Maitama district of the Federal Capital Territory appeared deserted.
Speaking later on telephone to The Guardian, a top officer at the embassy directed all enquiries to Lagos: “What I can tell you is that the official that should speak to you on the matter is in Lagos”.
A senior diplomat at the South Korean Embassy in Lagos yesterday however spoke on condition of anonymity. He confirmed to The Guardian the seizure of three workers of the Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company and the rest from the Korea Gas Corporation.
The diplomat said the grouse of the militant group was not yet known but that Daewoo Nigeria, Port Harcourt had been mandated by its parent company to handle the situation.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), however, the MEND, which claimed responsibility for the abduction, said several Nigerian soldiers and one of the militants were killed in a gun-fight during the raid a few minutes after midnight on Tuesday.
But other reports said five soldiers were slain and military sources confirmed some missing troops.
Full text of the rebels’ statement reads:
“In response to the Court of Appeal judgement of Tuesday, June 6, 2006, on the continued detention of Asari-Dokubo, fighters of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta attacked the premises of the Daewoo Company, contractors to Shell.
“This attack commenced 0010hrs on Wednesday, June 7, 2006. A military houseboat used by soldiers and mobile policemen drafted for the security of this facility was initially attacked and captured after a fierce firefight. Some occupants of this houseboat were killed in this fight, some jumped overboard and the rest fled into the surrounding bushes. The houseboat was burnt.
“In the raid on the Daewoo compound proper, the commander of the raiding party decided to take into custody 5 Koreans believed to be staff of Daewoo. They gave their names as; H.J Kwon, A. Park, S.B Kim, O.K Kim, and H.D Kim. They are in good health and have been returned to one of our bases.
“This contradicts our earlier resolve not to take hostages. The court ruling of June 6, stripping Asari of his rights as a human being and citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria effectively puts Nigeria under martial law. We are of the opinion that the government of Nigeria may be interested more in a prisoner exchange rather than releasing the persons whose release we have demanded.
“The Daewoo Company is advised to close down its operations with immediate effect as a second attack will bring only death. Similarly, oil service companies in the Niger Delta which have been clamouring for contracts on the repair of pipelines we previously destroyed should rethink this foolishness. Workers for such daring companies will be executed if caught at those sites.
“Daewoo should also rule out the use of criminals such as the FNDIC, so called Ijaw leaders and the acting oil minister to facilitate the release of these persons. It will simply not happen. As long as the units holding these individuals do not come under attack, no harm will come to the prisoners.
“We do not kill those fortunate to be captured by our fighters. On leaving the Daewoo camp, one of our covering units was attacked by four boats belonging to the Nigerian Army. In the ensuing fight, one of the army boats was destroyed and sunk with all occupants killed. There were six soldiers in this boat. One jumped overboard and did not surface until our unit left the scene. We therefore assume this soldier to have drowned. The remaining three boats fled the scene with heavy casualties. The exact number of those killed and injured in the boats, which managed to escape cannot be determined.
“We lost one of our fighters in the entire operation with two injured.
“Oil companies in the Niger Delta are reminded that we are going nowhere. The Nigerian government has been negotiating with fraudsters in order to provide a false sense of security in the Niger Delta.
“In the next few weeks, our attacks will increase with frequency with the destruction of several facilities of crucial importance to the oil industry.
“Oil companies in the Niger Delta are again warned to leave while they can.”
However, in a swift reaction to the latest hostage-taking, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) condemned the action, saying it left “much to be desired and portrays that hostage-taking of expatriate workers in the Niger Delta is now a lucrative business.”
The association in a statement by its General Secretary, Lumunba Okegbawo, expressed concern on the level of insecurity in the country, adding that whatever efforts by government to woo foreign investors would come to nought if the act was not quickly contained.
“We are concerned about the level of insecurity, which this situation has labelled on a nation, which has undergone serious campaign on image laundering and calling for foreign investments in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. While the efforts of governments would have yielded returns and assisted in the growth of our national economy, the action of our youths involving in this barbaric act will turn the effort of government into a wild goose chase,” PENGASSAN noted.
The union stated further that the increased number of these incidents has brought to fore the need to investigate the activities of the community, community leaders, local government authorities, government and politicians in the areas where hostage-taking have held sway.