UNKNOWN gunmen suspected to be Niger Delta militants stormed Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State in the early hours of Saturday and kidnapped an expatriate working for STEMCO Construction Company.
The expatriate; a Lebanese, was said to have been accosted at Library Road in Ikot Ekpene by the hoodlums, who dragged him out of his company�s vehicle and whisked him away.
The incident, which caused a lot pandemonium in the area, started at about 6.45am as the victim, who was identified as Mr. Sayd Seansine was on his way to the his company�s project site.
Our correspondent gathered that Seansine, who is a manager with STEMCO Construction Company, was with his driver, Mr. Peter Johnson, when the militants struck. Johnson was, however, not harmed.
It was also learnt that the gunmen were all masked, a situation that made it difficult to identify any of them during the operation.
Confirming the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Gab Ngban expressed shock over the development.
Ngban pointed out that the police had begun a manhunt of those involved in the kidnapping of the expatriate, saying that no stone would be left unturned in their determination to get Seansine released in due course.
He said, �We got information this morning that an expatriate working with STEMCO Construction Company was kidnapped by unknown gunmen suspected to be militants and we are working seriously to apprehend them.
�The state is known to be peaceful and this development is alien to it. Currently, nobody has claimed responsibility to the crime.�