Nigerian gunmen kidnapped a British oil services worker in the southern city of Port Harcourt late on Sunday and shot dead one of the police officers escorting him, private security sources said on Monday.
The British man was believed to be working for Adamac Industries Ltd, a Nigerian company which supplies engineering and construction services to foreign oil firms operating in the Niger Delta, the sources said.
A police source said two officers had been shot during the kidnapping, one of whom died from his injuries. Police spokeswoman Rita Inoma-Abbey said she was checking the details.
Kidnappings are frequent in the Niger Delta, home to Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry. More than 200 foreign workers have been abducted in the past three years alone although most have been released after payment of a ransom.
The armed groups have increasingly also targeted wealthy Nigerians living in Port Harcourt and in the surrounding region.