Yet-to-be identified gunmen attacked a convoy of an oil servicing company in Rivers state. Two South Korean workers were kidnapped and four Nigerian soldiers, killed in the process. Two civilian drivers were also killed in the ambush.
The convoy was ambushed on Tuesday, around the Ahoada/Abua axis, along East-West road in Rivers State at about 9:30am.
The abducted Koreans were workers of Daewoo Engineering and Company, a South Korean firm, who were being accompanied to work by troops of the 5 Battalion of the Nigerian Army.
The Nigerian army has confirmed the killing of the soldiers and the kidnap of the expatriates.
A statement released by the Acting Deputy Director, 6 Division, Army Public Relations, Major Jonah Danjuma, revealed that the military was hunting down the bandits to find and liberate the two abducted workers.
Unidentified Gunmen Kidnap Korean Nationals, Butcher Nigerian Soldiers in Surprise Attack
Major Danjuma had also revealed that the suspects had purportedly escaped through the Emesu waterside, using the Orashi River.
The army had blamed the suspected militants for the ambush but there had been no rapid claim of responsibility from the servicemen.
Abductions for ransom are frequent across Nigeria and they have alarmingly heightened this December due to the upcoming Christmas/New Year festivities.
The country’s political capital, Abuja, is presently topping the list as the state with the most kidnap reports in under a month.
Well-meaning Nigerians have taken to social media to sound the alarm for the locations to avoid in the state and tips to avoid being abducted.
It is worrisome that the federal government seems to be doing nothing about the situation.
At the time of making this report, the Korean Embassy has yet to release a statement on the matter.
