More than a dozen gunmen in speedboats kidnapped two oil engineers, one from the Philippines and one Nigerian, in the main oil industry city of Port Harcourt on Friday, security sources said.
The men were working for Damas Oil and Marine Services, an offshore oil services firm, a private security contractor in the oil industry said. He said no ransom had yet been demanded and that the kidnappers were not known to the security forces.
A state security source who asked not to be identified confirmed a Filipino and a Nigerian had been kidnapped early on Friday but gave no further details.
Port Harcourt is the main city in the Niger Delta, a vast network of shallow creeks flowing into the Gulf of Guinea and the hub of Nigeria’s 2 million barrels per day oil industry.
Militant groups seeking a greater share of the region’s natural wealth for local communities have cut Nigeria’s output by a fifth since launching a campaign of sabotage against oil installations in early 2006.
Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the breakdown of law and order, funding themselves through a lucrative trade in stolen crude oil and frequently kidnapping businessmen, local politicians and expatriates for ransom.
More than 200 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.
Armed men kidnapped two Germans working for a construction firm near Port Harcourt two weeks ago.
Security sources said gunmen had also attacked an oil services vessel late on Thursday as it travelled from Port Harcourt towards the Akpo oilfield operated by France’s Total