According to reports, officials have announced the release of about seven contractors, including three Australians and a South African, four days after they were kidnapped by gunmen in southern Nigeria.
There had been some conflicting reports provided by the Police regarding how many people had been seized and what their nationalities were. However they all had one thing in common–they all worked for cement company Lafarge and were kidnapped by suspected militants in Calabar, capital of Cross River state, in the Niger Delta.
Last week no fewer than seven people, including five foreign expatriates were reportedly kidnapped by suspected militants in Calabar. They were said to be on their way to the LafargeHolcim plant in Mfamosing to work. In the process of the kidnap, a local driver was fatally shot by the kidnappers.
Punch Metro reported the names and nationals of those kidnapped as follows:
Jack Countentz (Australia)
Mark Gabberdy (Australia)
Peter Zoutenbier (Australia)
Wayne Smith (South Africa)
Jamal Khan (New Zealand)
Austin Enok (Nigeria) and
Howel (Nigeria)
Kidnapping of foreign nationals in exchange for ransoms was most prevalent in Nigeria before militants from the Niger Delta region were granted Amnesty by the government in 2009. However, in 2014, Nigeria’s kidnapping problem bounced back to glaring limelight when over 200 school girls were abducted by Islamic Jihadists in Borno, a north-eastern state in Nigeria. Since then, a series of high profile kidnappings have been recorded across the country.
The New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, who addressed a press conference in Wellington today, ruled out any chance of the government paying a ransom for the release of the New Zealander being held hostage. Key says paying a ransom would put a bounty on the head of any New Zealander who travelled to a dangerous part of the world, and would potentially make the situation worse.
The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull has also addressed the situation. “It is a very serious kidnapping, a very serious criminal assault…we don’t know, at this stage, the identity of the kidnappers and families in Australia are notified of course,” he said.
A family member of one of the Australians kidnapped said the family was shocked by the development and concerned since one person [a local driver] was killed.
“Usually that doesn’t happen, so that’s sticking in our heads at the moment…That’s a real worry. They’ve already been very violent,” Zoutenbier’s sister-in-law, Tracy Zoutenbier told News Corp Australia.
The State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Ozi-Obeh, has said the police is aware of the matter and they are working with the Navy to ensure that the victims are released unharmed.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping yet, including the Niger Delta Avengers who have reiterated that they are not into kidnapping, unlike the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND). There is a high possibility that embassies of countries like the United States, United Kingdom and others will issue threat warnings to their nationals in Nigeria or those planning to travel down.
