Kidnappers are demanding a million-dollar ransom for four Ukrainian and Norwegian sailors abducted in Nigeria, Ukrainian media said Tuesday.
Early on August 9, unidentified assailants kidnapped four crewmen, two Ukrainians and two Norwegians, from a Norwegian ship servicing oil platforms in Nigerian territorial waters. The abductors were apparently trying to seize an oil platform on the local shelf.
“The kidnappers want a ransom of $1 million for the seamen,” Ukraine’s Channel Five television station said. “The sailors are alive but they need anti-malaria pills.”
On Monday, some media reported that negotiations between the Norwegian company that had hired the captives and the abductors were proceeding well.
Another kidnapping incident took place in Nigeria on Monday when unidentified assailants abducted four foreigners from a local bar. No demands have been made so far.