WARRI, Nigeria – Nigerian security personnel have stepped up efforts to rescue three kidnapped foreigners in the oil-rich Niger Delta, a military official said Friday.
Colonel Anka Mustapha told The Associated Press that he’s confident that the foreign construction workers will soon be rescued because of a heightened security presence that involves sending patrol boats into the region’s remote creeks, rivers and swampy mangroves.
The two Pakistanis and Indian were abducted Wednesday night in the town of Emakalakala, which is in the southern coastal state of Bayelsa, by gunmen operating on speedboats.
Six Nigerian oil company workers were also kidnapped in October.
Kidnappings for ransom have become synonymous with the Niger Delta. The Contemporary Maritime Piracy Database says that piracy and kidnapping in the oil-rich region have cost the nation some $131 million over the past three years.
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