One of Two Germans Kidnapped in Nigeria Freed

The German oil worker, 62-year-old Guido Schiffarth who was released after being held for 15 days by Niger Delta militants, said in reports Sunday he was treated well by his captors.

"I was treated very well and with respect," Schiffarth, who was abducted with his Nigerian driver on August 3 and taken to an unknown location, was quoted as saying.

The German was released Friday night in the oil city of Port
Harcourt. "He is fine and upbeat," a government spokesman Emmanuel Okah told AFP, but did not say anything on the fate of the Nigerian driver. Schiffarth was an employee of German oil service firm Bilfinger Berger.

The previously unknown Movement for the Niger Delta People
(MONDP) said it abducted Schiffarth to demand the release of two Niger Delta leaders -- regional warlord Mujahid Dokubo Asari and former Bayelsa state governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha -- who are on trial for alleged treason and corruption.

Kidnappings on the rise

Since January when separatist fighters launched an armed
struggle to demand local control of the country's oil resources, more than 40 foreign oil workers have been kidnapped.

The past two weeks have seen an upsurge in attacks with some 15 foreigners abducted. Another German working for a non-German oil company was snatched in Port Harcourt last Sunday, together with three other foreigners from Ireland, the United States and Britain. A Lebanese man working for a building company was kidnapped Wednesday near Port Harcourt by five gunmen.

Most recently, a Belgian and Moroccan were kidnapped Thursday, and two Norwegians and two Ukrainians were kidnapped at gunpoint from an oil services ship off the coast of Nigeria on Wednesday, and three Filipino workers were kidnapped last week.

The German foreign ministry on Tuesday issued a travel warning to Germans considering a trip to the Niger Delta.

Nigeria cracks down on militants

Nigeria is Africa's biggest producer and the eighth largest in the world, accounting for a daily output of 2.6 million barrels, but unrest has cut a quarter of that figure in recent months.

Nigerian troops have launched an aggressive manhunt for the
kidnappers, arresting around 100 suspects in raids on their hideouts in the restive region.

The security manhunt followed a directive from President
Olusegun Obasanjo to flush out suspected kidnappers terrorising oil firms in the restive region.