No confirmation has been received of the release of the two South Africans kidnapped in the Niger Delta last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
”South Africa’s high commissioner to Nigeria, Stix Sifingo, has denied reports that the two have been released,” said department spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
”The high commissioner, however, expresses optimism that they will soon be released.”
The two South Africans were kidnapped last week by pirates, along with 25 other people aboard a vessel in Nigeria’s southern oil-producing region.
The group of people kidnapped in the Niger Delta also consists of two Germans, two Britons and one Ukrainian.
The South Africans are Dan Laarman (37), a former diver in the navy, and another South African, who has not been identified. —