Nigerian police intensified efforts on Wednesday to seek the release of two Filipino oil workers a day after they were kidnapped near the oil city of Port Harcourt, a spokesperson said.
“We are making frantic efforts to effect their release. The truth is that we have yet to identify where they are kept or the group responsible for the abduction,” Rivers state police spokesperson Ireju Barasua told Agence France-Presse.
The two contract staff of Petroleum Geo-Services were kidnapped on Tuesday near Port Harcourt, the hub of Nigeria’s multi-billion dollar oil and gas industry.
They were abducted by six armed men who came in a boat, according to local authorities, but no group has yet claimed responsibility for the hostage-taking.
The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (Mend) — an armed separatist group that has claimed responsibility for two dozen kidnappings since the start of the year — told AFP it played no role in the capture of the Filipinos.
“We have nothing to do with that,” the organisation said in a short e-mail message on Wednesday.
The Nigerian navy said the kidnapping took place in Aker district, about 10km south-west of Port Harcourt.
Since the beginning of this year, 31 foreign oil workers, including the two Filipinos, have been kidnapped in the oil rich but restive Niger Delta.
Nigeria produces 2,6-million barrels of oil per day, making it the world’s sixth-biggest exporter.
All of the 29 previous captives have been released without harm after periods of detention ranging from several days to several weeks.
The Nigerian navy, which has lost several men in separatist actions against oil workers and oil installations, has tried to reinforce security in the region, but the attacks have continued unabated.
The Niger Delta, the main centre of oil production in Nigeria, is a 74 000km² swamp with more than 3 500 oil and gas installations.
Militant demand for the withdrawal of foreign oil workers, Mend’s recent attacks and the spate of kidnappings have adversely affected the oil industry, which yields 95% of Nigeria’s foreign-exchange earnings. — AFP