May 19: Three Indian oil workers were abducted by unidentified militant outfit in Southern Nigeria today morning. Militants placed dynamite against the front entrance of the residential area in the Nigeria's oil capital Port Harcourt and took into hostage 10 petrochemical workers. Seven of them were later rescued by military after a heavy gun battle.
One Nigerian national working as a driver was also killed in the incident. Militants after the gunfight were able to flee with three person and incidentally all three of the abductees are Indian citizens. This was confirmed by the government spokesperson Sagir Musa, who also assured that they are in constant touch with the abductors and will pursue their trails.
Violence has surged in the world's eighth largest oil exporter since flawed elections last month, shutting down a third of the country's oil production. The Indorama is a majority owner of the Eleme petrochemical plant near Port Harcourt, which was privatized in December 2005. Militants have long been kidnapping workers to protest the Nigerian government and oil companies.
Militants are fighting for the release of two of their imprisoned leaders who are in jail after being arrested by the state authority in corruption charges. Also a faction of Nigeria is continuously trying to take control of the oil funds for their impoverished villages.
Around a hundred of foreign oil workers were kidnapped within a year by criminal gangs or those factions of Nigerian national with radical views. Though most of the kidnapped workers were later released with a ransom amount but the Oil reach delta region is turning out to a dangerous zone for foreign workers.
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