SAS,
Interesting yes, but also a rather nasty, frightening and sinister development for many here. MEND is a sort of umbrella organisation and many previous kidnappings which have been carried out in its name may, or may not have been sanctioned by its top leadership. The trouble is that the leadership seems to be changing its stance rather like the Harmattan has changed the visibility. Not too long ago they said that they would be ceasing all kidnappings, now this?
. The original statement may have been tied to a statement attributed to Dokubo Asari that he did not want violent means used to try and secure his release. Maybe MEND doesn't regard kidnapping as a viloent crime
.
There's a website which is not updated too often, but often carries pronouncements from the MEND spokeperson. Some of its links may give some insight into what the mindset of a significant number of Ijaws is:
http://www.unitedijawstates.com/
It's good that this may signal a change in the policy of kidnapping for ransom, but when the demands of the kidnappers are politically unacceptable it does seem to make Nigeria a much more dangerous country in which to be kidnap than it was before
.
This development also makes it much more difficult for CHC and Bristow to recruit, even if higher salaries are on offer. Until now, many people thought that being kidnapped was just a matter of waiting things out (albeit in some considerable discomfort) until the requisite ransom was paid. Now things are getting more like they were back in the bad old days in the Middle East when hostages were held in Lebanon for months or years. How many remember Terry Waite, the man who was a hostage negotiator, then himself taken hostage and held captive for nearly 5 years?.