Two Lebanese kidnapped in Nigeria freed

The Bayelsa Police Command on Friday said it rescued two expatriate construction workers abducted by gunmen in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

The command’s spokesperson, Asinim Butswat, said the Lebanese were freed on Thursday following a crackdown by combined security forces in the area.

“The two Lebanese, Ibrahim Abi Phrem and Sarkis Abi Chimooni, all male, were kidnapped on June 24, at Ogbia Local Government Area,” Mr. Butswat said.

“They were rescued at Okodi in Ogbia riverine community on 25 June 2015 where they were abandoned by the kidnappers due to massive manhunt by police.

“They are hale and hearty and have been reunited with their families. Efforts are being intensified to arrest the kidnappers.”

Two police officers were killed on Wednesday afternoon when the gunmen abducted the two Lebanese in Onuegbum community.

The slain police officers were attached to Pache Construction Company, employers of the abductees.

The eight gunmen, according to residents who witnessed the incident, arrived the community at about 12.20 p.m. through the waterway in two speed boats. They reportedly besieged the sand dredging site and shot repeatedly into the air to scare passers-by and other dredging workers in the area who escaped to safety.

The two police officers responded with gunshots, but were killed by the volley of shots released by the armed men.

Mr. Butswat said the corpses of the police officers were deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa for autopsy. He also said that efforts were being intensified to arrest the kidnappers and bring them to book.

Kidnapping for ransom is rampant in Bayelsa and some other states in Southern Nigeria.

(NAN)