Four Nigerians were charged by a court here for kidnapping nine foreign workers, including four Indians, in the restive Niger Delta earlier in 2010.
The four men, including the brother of a high-profile terror suspect, appeared before a court on Friday and were charged for criminal conspiracy and abduction of four Indians, three French men, two Russians.
Charles Okah, whose elder brother Henry is facing terror charges in South Africa, was arraigned alongside three other suspects, accused of "criminal conspiracy, abduction, criminal intimidation and threat to life and causing grievous hurt" between August 1 and October 2, 2010.
Charges against two others — Ernest Wosu and Emmanuel Pathfinder — were withdrawn by the lead prosecutor Cliff Osagie who said the decision was taken after concluding investigations pertaining to their involvement.
The case was adjourned till December 23 by magistrate Oyebola Oyewumi and the accused are to stay in the custody of the oil-rich African country's secret police, State Security Service (SSS).
Movement for the emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a guerrilla group claiming to be fighting for greater resource control in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, has also engaged in the abduction of oil workers while demanding ransom for their release.
Apart from MEND, other militant groups in the zone have engaged in similar activities but some of them accepted an amnesty offered in 2009 by the Nigerian government and turned in their arms.
Nigeria is the highest producer of crude in Africa and also an OPEC member but militant activities of such rebel groups has often cut down production.