Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo set up a special committee Tuesday to ensure the "prompt release" of oil workers seized by militants from Shell's "EA" oil field in Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta last Wednesday, DPA reported. Obasanjo's spokesperson Remi Oyo said the decision was taken at a meeting Obasanjo held with the governors of Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, and Ondo states on Tuesday in Abuja. The states are part of the nine oil-rich states in the Niger Delta. Senior security chiefs were also in attendance. Oyo said Obasanjo once again appealed to the kidnappers "not to do anything that might result in the loss of lives."
