Gunmen have kidnapped a British oil worker in southern Nigeria, killing one police officer and wounded another as they did so, a security source said Monday.
Assailants kidnapped the British man, who works for Nigerian oil services company Adamac Industries Limited, from a hotel bar in the Nigerian oil hub of Port Harcourt on Sunday night, the source said on condition of anonymity.
A police officer working with an escort unit was killed in the incident and another officer was injured, according to the source.
In London, the Foreign Office told AFP it had received reports of the kidnapping and was “urgently investigating”.
The past three years have seen an upsurge in militant activities in the region with frequent attacks on foreign oil companies and a wave of kidnappings of expatriate employees.
Most hostages are released unharmed after a few days or weeks, often after a ransom is paid.
The militant groups — the most prominent being the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) — often claim to be acting on behalf of impoverished local people fighting for a fairer share of the oil wealth.
Unrest in the Niger Delta has cost Nigeria its position as Africa’s leading crude exporter. Its oil output has fallen by about a quarter since 2006.
Last week, MEND dismissed an amnesty offer from the government as “unrealistic” and charged that the military was being put on a warpath in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
MEND said it would only agree to a peace process in which the United Nations and “reputable international mediators” play an active role.
The group’s comments came after President Umaru Yar’Adua said his administration was considering granting amnesty to militants who are ready to lay down arms and reintegrate into society.
Yar’Adua also said the Nigerian government will empower its special military force in the volatile Niger Delta to better fight militants in the region.