Posted by BBC News on
Two German journalists held for two weeks suspected of espionage in the oil rich Niger Delta have been released by the Nigerian State Security Service.
Two German journalists held for two weeks suspected of espionage in the oil rich Niger Delta have been released by the Nigerian State Security Service.
An American-born aid worker who facilitated the visit, Judith Burdin Asuni, is still being held.
Florian Alexander Opitz and Andy Lehmann had been filming masked youths from the Ijaw community in Delta State.
Delta militants have been conducting a violent campaign for a larger share of oil revenues.
At the time of her arrest the US embassy in Abuja told the BBC that it was in touch with the Nigerian government over the continued detention of Mrs Asuni, who is married to a Nigerian and has lived in the region for 36 years.
"All we know is that Judith Asuni is a peace worker who got funding from academics and international donor agencies to work for peace in Nigeria," the embassy said.
Mrs Asuni runs a high-profile non-governmental organisation called Academic Associates Peace Work and has run workshops with the Nigerian police on conflict management.
The German nationals were reportedly conducting preliminary research for a possible TV documentary about the Niger Delta.
The BBC's Alex Last says the Niger Delta is a sore subject for the Nigerian authorities, particularly the international attention given to militant groups.
The region is home to all of Nigeria's oil, responsible for 95% of hard currency earnings, but most of the peoples of the Delta live in abject poverty.
The main militant group in the region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, recently called off a truce with the Nigerian government after the arrest of one of its leaders in Angola.