Two foreign oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) – Two foreigners working for Nigerian oil services company Lonestar were kidnapped in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria on Friday, police and security sources said.

Kidnappings for ransom are common in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where militants have launched a campaign of violence to press for local control of the region’s natural resources.


More than 200 foreigners have been seized in violence in the region since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.

“Two foreign oil workers, one Pakistani and the other from Malta, were kidnapped at Omoku today. They are working for Lonestar. We do not know who kidnapped them,” said Sagir Musa, military spokesman in Rivers state.

Reuters