Nigerian police hunt kidnap gang

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) – Nigerian police have said two Australians and a South African were abducted Wednesday, along with two local colleagues, in the country’s oil-rich Cross Rivers state.

State police commissioner Jimoh Ozi-Obeh told reporters Calabar city that the five men – all mining workers – were abducted at Akpabuyo district of the state while en route to work at a cement factory.

No confirmation from the Australian and South African embassies in Nigeria was immediately available.

Police say the abductors stopped the workers’ car and shot the driver dead before ferrying away the occupants.

Ozi-Obeh said the men worked for an Australian mining and engineering firm called Macmahon, a contractor to global building-materials giant LafargeHolcim.

“We have not established any contacts with their abductor but I can assure you we are on top of the situation,” Ozi-Obeh added.

Abduction is a major security issue across much of the country’s southern region.

The country’s parliament is currently working on a bill that would see kidnappers jailed for life upon conviction.