Four workers were abducted Tuesday, near Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Via CBC.ca.
Four Shell contractors were kidnapped in Nigeria yesterday. The men, three Britons and one Colombian, were taken after armed attackers ambushed a bus in which the four were traveling. According to sources, the contractors were on their way to a power plant when they were ambushed by gunmen, who killed the guard assigned to the workers.
Militants brandish weapons during armed combat training in the Niger Delta. Via NEXT.
While militant attacks in the oil rich Delta region of Nigeria have been a common problem in the past, this marks the first attack on foreigners in several months. The attack, which took place near the city of Port Harcourt, has not yet been claimed by any group. Residents in Port Harcourt say violent crimes have become more common recently and blame it on former militants, who left the creeks of the Niger Delta as part of an amnesty offer that ended last October. But there have been delays to the promised monthly stipends and retraining programs for those who agreed to disarm. The government is currently working on an anti-kidnapping legislation, which, if passed, would mean life sentences for abductors and their assistants. Six of the country’s 36 states have this year adopted the death penalty for the crime, according to Amnesty International. However, security analysts say tougher penalties are not the solution; instead, a reorganization of sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest economy is needed to redistribute wealth and provide alternative means of employment for former militants.
For more news, see BBC.
Gunmen Seize Three Britons, One Colombian in Nigeria
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