Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:07:13 GMT


A Scottish oil worker has been kidnapped in southern Nigeria's oil hub of Port Harcourt, an army officer and a diplomat have said.

Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Sagir, a local military spokesman, said on Friday that the man was abducted by unknown gunmen in an upmarket part of town late Thursday evening.

A spokesman for the British High Commission also said: "I can confirm there was an incident in Port Harcourt on Thursday 27th where a British national was abducted."

No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping; however, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is often blamed for abduction of foreign workers. Most of them are released unharmed, often after a ransom is paid.

Oil facilities in the Niger Delta, Nigeria's main oil producing region, are frequently attacked by militants, who claim to fight what they call the exploitation of the people of the region by multinational companies.

Unrest in the Niger Delta area has reduced Nigeria's oil output by about a quarter over the past two years.

AKM/DT