Nigeria hunts kidnappers of two German workers
Loading ...Nigerian security forces on Saturday intensified efforts to track down the kidnappers of two German construction workers in Port Harcourt, the country’s oil hub.
“We are fervently searching for the abductors with a view to securing the release of the Germans,” Rivers state police spokeswoman Rita Abbey told AFP.
Abbey said a soldier was shot and wounded when unknown gunmen seized the two workers of construction firm Julius Berger in Port Harcourt on Friday, but could not confirm local media reports that the man had died.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, the latest to rock oil-rich Nigeria in recent months.
The Niger delta, home to the country’s multi-billion-dollar oil and gas resources, has seen numerous kidnappings targeting foreign energy firms in the past two years.
Some of the militants responsible demand a greater share of oil wealth for the region’s inhabitants, while others carry out attacks for ransom or political reasons.
A senior Nigerian official of Julius Berger said the construction firm was “monitoring the situation” in the Niger delta following the kidnapping, but refused to say whether the incident could prompt it to pull out of the region.
Julius Berger, the Nigerian arm of German Bilfinger Berger, began operating in the country in 1965. Nigerian investors own 50.04 percent of the company while foreigners own 49.96 percent.
Several foreign firms, including French tyre company Michelin and oil servicing firm Wilbros, have left the Niger delta because of security problems.
The unrest has reduced Nigeria’s oil output by a quarter, causing it to lose its position as Africa’s biggest oil producer to Angola, according to April figures from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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