Kidnappings rise in Nigeria’s oil-producing delta

Gunmen in Nigeria have kidnapped the wife of a former oil minister, an employee of an Italian energy firm and an electoral official in recent days, highlighting growing insecurity in the country’s oil heartland.

Security experts say military efforts to curb crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, combined with lower world energy prices, have made the illegal trade less lucrative, prompting armed gangs to seek other sources of revenue such as ransom.
Gunmen kidnapped the wife of former oil minister Edmund Daukoru from a shopping mall in the main oil city of Port Harcourt late on Tuesday. A local employee of Italian energy firm Agip and an election commission official were taken in separate incidents in the city this week, police said.

Foreign companies in sectors ranging from telecoms to construction, have already reduced staffing levels, particularly among expatriates seen at high risk of kidnap.

Forbes