Nigerian rebels disown girl abduction

By Estelle Shirbon

ABUJA (Reuters) - The main rebel group in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta said on Monday the abduction of a 3-year-old British girl was unrelated to political violence and the armed struggle over oil revenues would continue.

Margaret Hill was released on Sunday night after four days in the hands of unknown ransom seekers who snatched her from the car in which she was being driven to school on July 5 in Port Harcourt, the delta's main city.

"This criminal act against a minor was perpetrated by common thieves and even as they have released the child, I promise you their punishment is unspeakable," said the rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

"This incident changes nothing amongst the groups truly agitating for resource control in the Niger Delta," said the group's spokesman, who uses the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo.

Abductions of adult expatriates are so frequent in the Niger Delta that they rarely make headlines in Nigerian newspapers, but the kidnapping of Margaret Hill drew outrage from the government as well as from politically motivated armed groups.

About 200 foreigners have been snatched in the delta since the start of 2006, of whom at least 14 are still being held.

A small number of these abductions were carried out by the MEND and other rebel groups seeking to press their demand for impoverished delta communities to gain power over oil revenues that they regard as their birthright.

But in the vast majority of cases, the kidnappers were ransom seekers. Both the government and the rebels condemn the commercialisation of hostage takings.