Five kidnapped South Koreans will be released, Nigerian militant group says

Five kidnapped South Koreans will be released, Nigerian militant group says

The group had said it would exchange the hostages for Dokubo-Asari, who has called for autonomy for southern Nigerians and was jailed last year on treason charges. His release has been a top militant demand since they took up arms earlier this year.

MEND again warned the South Koreans' employer to leave the Niger Delta "or face even more drastic action" in the future, the AP reports.

MEND has been responsible for a wave of attacks and hostage takings this year in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta, whose impoverished residents the group says don't receive enough of the oil revenue.