The 62-year-old Maltese oil worker, who was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Nigeria last Friday, is alive and contact with him was made yesterday.
George Scerri, who was kidnapped together with a Pakistani, was in contact with Lonestar, the oil drilling company which employs him, the government said yesterday.
It is not known who initiated the contact, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry would neither confirm nor deny if a request for ransom was made.
The government yesterday continued with its diplomatic efforts to obtain Mr Scerri's release. Foreign Minister Tonio Borg is in touch with both the Nigerian government and Lonestar.
Meanwhile, MEP Simon Busuttil has appealed to the EU to use its diplomatic clout to help release Mr Scerri.
Mr Scerri and the Pakistani were abducted in Omoku, outside the main oil city Port Harcourt, as they were driving on their way to an oil rig.
Sources said the men were driving without a military escort when they were seized at around 12.30 p.m. on Friday. Mr Scerri has been working abroad for a good number of years.
The two men were detained two days after one of the country's most prominent armed groups threatened more acts of sabotage against the oil industry, accusing the Nigerian government of insincerity.
A week ago, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta said it would continue its sabotage campaign on the oil industry as long as the government was "insincere in the handling of the Niger Delta crisis."
Some 200 people have been kidnapped from the same area over the past two years. Last week armed gunmen kidnapped the wife and three-week old baby of a politician in the Niger Delta. Nigerian media said the wife of Lonestar's chairman was kidnapped by unknown gunmen last month and later released.
Dr Busuttil, as the head of the Maltese delegation in the EPP-ED group of the European Parliament, has written to European Commission President Josè Manuel Barroso, High Representative for Foreign Policy Javier Solana and Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, responsible for the EU's external affairs, urging them to intervene personally.
"Although the Maltese authorities have already started intense diplomatic efforts to secure the release (of Mr Scerri), Malta does not have any diplomatic presence in the area and, therefore, relies on the European Commission and on fellow EU member states for assistance," he wrote.
Dr Busuttil called upon Mr Barroso, Mr Solana and Ms Ferrero-Waldner to "set in motion all the necessary measures within your competence and to use your good offices to secure the immediate release of the two workers concerned".
When contacted, Dr Busuttil said Mr Scerri enjoys EU citizenship and thus the EU should be informed about the case to add to the efforts being made to resolve it.
The European Commission's delegation in Nigeria is based in the country's capital, Abuja and is headed by Robert van der Meulen - a Dutch EU official.