Gunmen on Tuesday siezed and later freed a Lebanese construction worker in southwestern Nigeria’s oil-rich state of Delta, the military said.
“He was abducted by unknown gunmen at the company construction site in Ekpan, Warri,” Colonel Rabe Abubakar, the military spokesman said.
The Lebanese worked for Niger Cat Construction, the military said.
“Two kidnappers were arrested in connection with the incident… and the victim was subequently released with no ransom,” said Abubakar in a statement.
There has been a surge in violent attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry and kidnappings of both local and foreign oil workers, as well as relatives of prominent politicians since January 2006.
The kidnappings are often blamed on criminal gangs seeking a ransom, but sometimes also for political ends.
The unrest has reduced the country’s oil output by more than one quarter and production currently stands around two million barrels a day against 2.6 million barrels three years ago.