LAGOS: Armed men have kidnapped three Syrians and a Lebanese working in the construction sector in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern region, killing a policeman in the attack, police said on Friday.
“About 10 or more kidnappers, armed with automatic weapons, fired many rounds. The hoodlums kidnapped four expatriate workers – three Syrians and one Lebanese,” said police spokeswoman Rita Abbey.
“They were working on a construction site in Rivers State,” said Abbey, adding that the kidnappings took place late on Thursday.
“One of our policemen attached to the company was killed by the hoodlums,” the spokeswoman added.
The assailants escaped into nearby Abia State territory, she said. No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnap and no ransom has been demanded so far, Abbey said.
Nigerian gunmen had on March 31 this year kidnapped a local employee of French oil group Total on his way to work in the country’s main oil hub of Port Harcourt.
Hundreds of mostly foreign and local oil workers have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta since 2006.
Many have been released unharmed, and some were freed only after ransom payments.
Both Rivers and Abia are states in the volatile oil-rich Niger Delta region, where most kidnappings have taken place in recent years.
Initially, oil workers in the region were targeted for kidnapping but local politicians and their relatives have been increasingly targeted. – AFP
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