In the early hours of this morning armed men boarded an LPG tanker just off the mouth of the Bonny River and kidnapped another 8 expatriates. Despite the presence of 4 naval personnel (who warned the crew to take cover), 6 armed gunmen managed to take over the vessel, shot 2 of the civilian crew (extent of injuries unknown as yet) and took 8 expatriates hostage. That brings to 16 the number of expatriates taken hostage by various militant and criminal gangs in the last 2 weeks and none have so far been released
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There has also been an upsurge in attacks on the Bakassi Peninsula with a little-known group, the Niger Delta Defence and Security Council (NDDSC) carrying out attacks on Cameroon in protest at territory being handed back to Cameroon on 14th August as part of the realignment of the Cameroon-Nigeria border in line with the ruling of the International Court of Justice. In the last attack last Thursday, 2 Cameroonian soldiers and 10 Nigerian gunmen were killed and 8 of the Nigerian attackers were taken prisoner. Most of the population of the penisula, who are Nigerians, have been given the option of staying under Cameroon authority or being resettled in Nigeria. So far the treaty has not been ratified by the Nigerian legislature. Even if the handover goes ahead, there will undoubtedly be further unrest and violence in the area as Nigerians are not exactly known for their peaceable nature
President Yar'Adua (Baba Go-Slow) has re-affirmed Nigeria's commitment to the terms of the Green Tree treaty in a meeting with Cameroon's new ambassador to Nigeria, but that won't necessarily stop the activities of groups like the NDDSC who are opposed to the handover