Four foreign oil workers held hostage by Ijaw youth belonging to the militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the People of the Niger Delta were released on January 30, ending the 19 day hostage standoff in Bayelsa state, according to the International Herald Tribune. The Ijaw acquiesced on their original demands—the release of two Ijaw leaders and a payment $1.5 billion by Royal Dutch Shell to Niger delta villagers as compensation for decades of oil pollution—after the government reportedly paid a ransom sum of $770,000 to secure the hostage release. The demands came after the Ijaw youth blew up a Shell station, killing 12 soldiers, on January 15. The detained Ijaw leaders are part of the group of regional and ethnic leaders contesting the regional nomination for the 2007 presidential elections, according to Reuters.
