“Fifteen oil workers, including their driver, were abducted yesterday, Friday, by unknown gunmen who hijacked their vehicle on Omoku/Elele road after shooting into the air to scare passersby”, Rivers state police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni told AFP.
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A source privy to the incident but who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity disclosed that the workers were returning to Port Harcourt before the incident. In the oil-rich Niger Delta, they are carried out by ordinary criminals as well as militants demanding a greater share of oil riches for locals.
Omoni said Policemen were on the trail of the gunmen.
“Police are now combing bushes around the area in a bid to find and release the victims”.
When our correspondent contacted the Public Relations Officer of Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the development and stressed that their men have swung into action. We are doing our best to rescue the victims and apprehend the kidnappers.
Kidnappings of Nigerians and foreigners are common all over the country. It was not clear if ransoms were paid.
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The restive southern swampland region has been rocked by violence against oil and gas pipelines since the start of the year, reducing the OPEC member’s output by 700,000 barrels a day to 1.56 million bpd. Nigeria relies on oil for more than 70 percent of its revenues.
