M-Net on Tuesday confirmed that three of its staff members were taken hostage in Nigeria, and another was shot and wounded.
The company’s head of corporate affairs, Caroline Creasy, in a statement said a bus carrying 21 crew members was flagged down by uniformed gunmen as it approached the Owerri Airport in Imo State on Sunday.
“The crew was forced to step out of the bus.
“Upon doing so, one of the Nigerian cameramen reached for his mobile telephone and was shot in the leg by the gunmen.”
The cameraman was taken to a local hospital and was in a stable condition.
Three crew members — Nick Greyling, an audio mixer (South African), Alexander Effiong, a Nigerian cameraman, and Bowie Attamah, a sports commentator from Nigeria — were taken hostage.
The remaining crew arrived safely in Lagos.
“The contracted security company on the ground, and the Nigerian and South African governments respectively, are working together to ensure the safe release of the affected staff.”
Greyling’s family told the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Tuesday that he is alive.
“What we do know is that he is still alive and that negotiations are under way for a ransom to be paid so that he can be released,” said his father-in-law, RSG radio personality Johann Russouw.
Russouw told the SABC the family was holding on to the hope that Greyling would be safely returned.
“… It is so sad that the person who does no one harm whatsoever, that he must now be a victim of this very horrible abduction and unfortunate situation and we are just praying for his release and for his safe return to South Africa so that we could be united as a family again.” — Sapa