Chinese gold mining workers kidnapped in Nigeria by armed gang
- Two men abducted in the African country’s southwest by gang who shot their security guards
- Chinese firms working on Nigerian infrastructure projects have been targeted repeatedly in kidnap plots
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Kidnapping for ransom used to be common in Nigeria’s oil-producing south, but has lately spread to other parts of the country. The victims are usually released after a ransom is paid, although police rarely confirm whether money changes hands.
The latest abduction occurred on Monday at Okepa/Itikan village in Osun state, police spokeswoman Yemisi Opalola said in a statement. She said “a gang of criminals, at about 4pm, attacked and abducted two Chinese nationals”.
“The two men, namely Zhao Jian, 33, and Wen, 50, were working at a mining site,” she said.
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The gunmen shot and wounded two private guards attached to the foreigners, and they had been admitted to hospital, the spokeswoman said, adding: “The police are on the trail of the perpetrators of the crime.”
Last July, four Chinese workers were abducted from a quarry site in southern Cross River state while their police guard was killed. They were released a month later.
