Hundreds of suspected kidnappers arrested in Nigeria

More than 300 suspected kidnappers have been arrested in Nigeria since February, the police chief said on Wednesday as President Goodluck Jonathan demanded action to stop a wave of abductions.

All the suspects were from the Igbo ethnic community, one of the three main groups in the country’s south-east, Inspector General Ogbonnaya Onovo said.

“More than 300 kidnappers have been arrested between February 2010 to date and all of them are Igbo,” Onovo said.

Igbo-speaking states such as Imo and Abia are in the south-east of the oil-rich Niger Delta, where militants claiming to be fighting for a fairer share of oil revenues for their communities have kidnapped hundreds of mostly oil workers since 2006.

Since last year abductions for ransom by gangs have spread eastwards, with politicians, their relatives and senior government officials the main targets.

The police chief warned of tough action against the kidnappings, which were also raised in a Cabinet meeting where the president demanded action.

He “warned that something needs to be done to arrest the situation as soon as possible”, Information Minister Dora Akunyili told journalists after the meeting.

Governors of the affected states “are already working hard to ensure that this menace is curtailed to the barest minimum, or totally eradicated because it is unacceptable,” Akunyili said.—Sapa-AFP