All eight kidnapped foreign oil workers in Nigeria have been released, it was confirmed on Sunday.
"All the hostages have been released. They are with the governor now," said Ekiyor Welson, spokesman for Bayelsa state in the southern Niger Delta region where the eight were kidnapped on Friday.
Six Britons, one American and a Canadian were kidnapped from a rig that was drilling off Nigeria's southern coast. The oil rig was operated by Scotland-based Dolphin Drilling Ltd. for the Nigerian oil company Peak Petroleum.
Confusion had surrounded the men's fate earlier with a police spokesman first reporting all eight were released, then retracting his statement to say that the kidnappers had released only two Britons and agreed to set the others free but had not yet done so.
Diplomats from the men's embassies in Nigeria could not be reached for comment. In London, officials at Britain's Foreign Office said they were still looking into claims the men had been freed.
Police had said on Saturday they were negotiating with the kidnappers. They declined to say whether a ransom was paid, and did not say who was responsible for the hostage-taking.
In recent months, oil-region militants have blown up oil pipelines and kidnapped other foreign workers.
The Movement for the Emancipation for the Niger Delta, the main militant group responsible for a wave of attacks and hostage takings this year in the oil-rich southern delta, has said it was not responsible for the latest kidnappings, which it believes were purely a moneymaking scheme.
The group, known as MEND, is campaigning for a better distribution of Nigeria's oil wealth. Its actions have cut oil production in the country and helped drive prices higher on international markets.
Speaking before the hostages' release, Dolphin spokeswoman Sheena Wallace said she did not have the names of the missing crewmen or information about demands or know what group was behind the kidnapping. Local representatives of the company could not be reached for comment.
dit is beter nieuws, en kan leiden tot lagere olie-koersen ....