Gunmen kidnap two Chinese workers, kill police officer in Edo

Gunmen have kidnapped two Chinese citizens and killed their police guard in southern Nigeria,  police  disclosed this on Friday,describing it as  the latest of such incident targeting workers from the country.

The abduction, as learnt took place Wednesday at the town of Utesi in the southern Edo state, a senior police officer told AFP.

“The Chinese were seized by unknown gunmen who had laid an ambush for them outside the premises of their company,” the officer said.

“The police orderly attached to the Chinese was killed in the operation.”

He unearthed that the  police have launched a manhunt for the attackers with a view to rescuing the hostages, who were employed at a glass and aluminum firm.

Chinese companies are working in Nigeria on multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects that include railways, airports, and roads. Their workers have been repeatedly targeted by kidnap gangs.

Kidnapping for ransom is now common in Nigeria, especially in the oil-rich south.

The victims are usually released after a ransom is paid although police rarely confirm if money changed hands.

Five Chinese citizens, kidnapped in April in Bobi in central Niger state, were freed a month later in a forest in Birnin Gwari in neighbouring Kaduna state.

Also in April, two Chinese workers abducted on a construction site in Ebonyi state were released unharmed after two days in captivity.

AFP