Criminals who kidnapped two Turkish engineers in volatile southern Nigeria have demanded ransom for their release and talks are underway, a Turkish diplomat said Tuesday.
“The kidnappers got in touch with the men’s Turkish employer and conveyed their ransom demand,” the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
“Negotiations are underway,” she added, without elaborating on the amount of the ransom demand.
The engineers, Ilker Izci and Murat Orhan, were abducted on April 6 by armed men who intercepted their vehicle while driving in Port Harcourt.
The pair worked for Turkish telecommunications engineering company Merpa, a subcontractor of Italian oil company Agip.
Merpa officials spoke to the pair on the telephone several times since the abduction and found them to be in good condition, the company said in a statement.
“They (the engineers) told us they were in good health and that they were not subjected to maltreatment,” it added.
No one has claimed responsibility for the two men’s kidnapping.
Since the beginning of the year, 60 foreigners — as many as those kidnapped in the whole of 2006 — have been kidnapped in southern Nigeria.
Most of the hostages have been released unharmed, but a few have been held for protracted periods.
Some of the hostage-takers are well-organised, well-equipped groups fighting for a greater share of oil wealth to go to local communities. Others are more like criminal gangs out to make money from ransom payments.