Oil workers flee Nigerian siege

Militants demand a greater share of oil wealth for locals

Nine oil workers have escaped from a pumping station overrun by militants in southern Nigeria.

One of the men told a local newspaper they had walked for 12 hours through creeks full of snakes and crocodiles to reach the town of Port Harcourt.

He also said they had been beaten by the militants, who are demanding a ransom for their release. At least 30 others are still being held.

A string of attacks in the Niger Delta has cut oil output by about 25%.

'Lucky'

The Tebidaba pumping station, in Bayelsa State, run by Italy's Agip company was overrun by armed men on Monday and shut down.

"We were all asked to lie on the floor, face down. We were battered, bullied and harassed mercilessly until the next morning," the unnamed escaped worker told Nigeria's Guardian newspaper.

"They never ceased firing their guns, it was a horrifying experience."

He added that a soldier had been shot when he refused to surrender his gun.

"They were lucky to escape," an Agip manager told Reuters news agency.

On Tuesday, two foreign oil workers were released after being held hostage for five days.

Hostage-taking has become a lucrative business for armed groups in the Niger Delta, where most oil is located in Africa's biggest exporter.

Election fears

The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says a number of different armed groups have taken hostages in recent months.

Almost all have demanded ransoms for their release, sometimes in the form of compensation deals for local communities who feel short-changed by the oil companies operating in their area.

The militants demand a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth for local residents but our correspondent says the line is blurred between criminal and political activity.

He added that, with elections approaching next year, many fear the violence is going to get worse.

The latest kidnappings come despite Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo's promise in September to take strong action to curb the armed groups.