Hunt on for Nigerian kidnappers

2006-08-16 13:05

Lagos - Nigerian security agents on Wednesday launched an aggressive manhunt for the kidnappers of five foreign oil workers still held in the swamps of the restive Niger Delta region.

Police spokesperson Haz Iwendi said: "We have moved into action following the president's directive. From now on, there will be no hiding place for the criminals, whose stock in trade is to kidnap foreign oil workers."

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday ordered a massive clampdown on Niger Delta militants who had abducted some 14 expatriates in the past two weeks in and around Port Harcourt.

The city was the hub of the oil-rich, but troubled Niger Delta region, where oil firms had their operational bases. It had been the epicentre of a spate of hostage-takings in the west African country.

14 foreign oil workers kidnapped

Iwendi said Obasanjo held a meeting with the country's top security chiefs on Tuesday at which he vowed to deal "firmly" with the kidnappers.

Some 14 foreign oil workers were taken prisoner in the last two weeks, but nine of them were released this week, leaving five in captivity.

On Monday in Port Harcourt, four workers - an American, a Briton, a German and an Irishman - were abducted from a popular bar in the centre of the city.

Another German worker was seized in the city on August 03, for a total of five foreign oil workers still in the custody of their abductors.

The previously unknown Movement for the Niger Delta People (MONDP) claimed responsibility for the earlier kidnapping, demanding the release of two local leaders standing trial for corruption in exchange for his freedom.

No claims of responsibility had been made for Monday's abductions.

- AFP