Gunmen have kidnapped four Chinese rail construction employees and killed their police escort in southwest Nigeria, police said Thursday, in the latest such incident in the region.

The attack occurred on Wednesday at Alaagba village in Ogun state after the Chinese workers were ambushed, state police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi told AFP.

"Four Chinese nationals working at the construction site of the railway around Alaagba area were abducted by some gunmen who also shot dead their police escort," he said.

He said police launched a manhunt for the kidnappers to rescue the hostages.

President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the $2.5 billion, 157-kilometre Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line last week.

Chinese firms are working in Nigeria on multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects that include mining, railways, airports and roads.

Kidnapping for ransom used to be concentrated in Nigeria's oil-producing south, but the crime has lately spread to other parts of the country.

The victims are usually released after a ransom is paid although police rarely confirm if money changes hands.

In April, two Chinese workers were abducted and their private security guards shot at a mining site in southwest Osun state. They were released four days later.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US-led war games underway in Morocco near disputed W.Sahara
Greier Labouihi (AFP) Maroc (AFP) June 15, 2021
US-led forces are carrying out war games near the disputed region of Western Sahara, in exercises jointly organised with Morocco and touted by US Africa Command as its largest. More than 7,000 personnel from nine countries and NATO are taking part in the exercises codenamed "African Lion", which kicked off on June 8, according to US Africa Command (Africom). The manoeuvres, due to conclude on Friday, have seen rockets fired near Western Sahara, navy boats patrol off the coast of Spain's Canary I ... read more