An influential leader in the Delta, Mr Ledum Mitee, leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, says that kidnapping has come to stay in the Niger Delta:
The leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr Ledum Mitee, who, in 1995 narrowly escaped being hanged alongside the famous Ogoni Nine has said that kidnaping, hostage taking and other related crimes may not stop in the Niger Delta.
Mitee was arraigned before a military tribunal together with the outspoken activist and writer, the late Ken Saro Wiwa and eight others in 1995 by the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha, over their alleged culpability in the killing of four traditional rulers in Ogoni land, but he was released thereafter.
He took over the reins of the organisation after its leader, Saro Wiwa was convicted by the military tribunal, thereby making MOSOP one of the leading and outspoken critics of the Abacha government in the Niger Delta region.
The MOSOP leader said in Kaduna at the weekend that kidnapping and hostage taking in the Niger Delta region, just like armed robbery in all parts of the country, has come to stay.
He made the observation in a lecture entitled “The Niger-Delta: A Vision for Nigeria's Economic Development” he delivered at the Fifth All Nigerian Editors Conference.
He said that kidnapping and hostage taking had become a “blossoming venture'' where huge money is realised by its perpetrators.
The US diplomatic mission has also issued a statement saying that it has received reports of a possible attack in Lagos:
The U.S. diplomatic mission in Nigeria said Sunday it had received reports of plans for a possible attack against its consulate in the southern city of Lagos.
Officials said in a circular sent to U.S. citizens that Nigerian police had increased their vigilance around the consulate and were closely monitoring traffic nearby. The mission called on U.S. citizens to report any suspicious activity there.