My Nigeria... » Niger Delta http://www.my-nigeria.com Where Nigeria Meets The World... Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:40:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Punch:Blackmailers, kidnappers on the prowl in Lagos http://www.my-nigeria.com/2009/02/02/punchblackmailers-kidnappers-on-the-prowl-in-lagos/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2009/02/02/punchblackmailers-kidnappers-on-the-prowl-in-lagos/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:41:20 +0000 princess http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=946 kidnappings and demand for ransom that had hitherto gained ground among the militants of the Niger Delta are gradually creeping into the South-West, particularly Lagos.

For instance, two men are currently in the custody of the Lagos State Police Command over their involvement in the recent kidnap of a young boy from a church in Isolo, Lagos.

The suspects, John Akinsola and Segun Akanon, reportedly kidnapped the boy, Ebuka Philips, from the Ago Palace Way, Isolo parish of the Christ Embassy on December 15, 2008.

After luring the boy from the church, the suspects reportedly established contact with his parents and demanded a N20m ransom for his release.

They were, however, arrested while they were attempting to collect the ransom at a spot in Sango Ota, Ogun State.

Earlier, two suspects had been paraded before journalists for kidnapping a young girl while returning from school at Abule-Egba, a suburb of Lagos.

The suspects, who reportedly demanded $1,000 from the father of the victim, were later arrested at the point where they were to collect the ransom.

Another development creeping into Lagos is subtle blackmail where criminals get across to their targets demanding for money under the guise that they have been engaged to kill them.

For instance, the police recently paraded a suspect, ThankGod Ogu, for allegedly attempting to defraud one Mrs. Adaku Odenigwe of N400, 000.

Ogu, who introduced himself as Mr. Kenneth Jackson, was said to have called Odenigwe on the telephone and claimed to have been paid N4m by an undisclosed person to kill her.

He, however, promised to spare her life if she could pay a ransom of N400, 000 to a certain bank account.

Also, on Friday, the police paraded 30-year-old Ifeanyi Oguzie, a resident of 38, Church Street, Ijaiye, Ojokoro, another suburb of Lagos for issuing a threat letter to a Lagos-based top journalist with a view to extorting him.

Oguzie reportedly wrote a letter to the journalist that he (Oguzie) had been contracted to assassinate him. He left a telephone number which he asked the target to call if he still cherished his life.

During a telephone conversation, he reportedly demanded N500, 000 from the journalist. It was later negotiated to N200, 000.

It was at the point of picking the ransom in front of the church, where, incidentally, both of them attend, that he was arrested by men of the SCIB.

The Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, confirmed that there had been a number of cases of “imitation of the culture of kidnapping and ransom demanding.”

Mba said that there was no cause for alarm because such cases were “just pseudo cases” and not classical cases of kidnapping.

He said that investigations had shown that hoodlums who were finding it difficult to engage in armed robbery in the state were responsible for the incidents.

In another development, the Redeemer’s University, Mowe, Ogun State and the Ogun State Police Command have confirmed that two students of the institution were missing.

The university, parents and students of RUN had been thrown into confusion following the alleged abduction of a 200-Level student of Business Administration, Gbenga Sotubo, and a 300-Level student in the Department of History and International Relations, Miss Akande Oluwarantimi, since last Monday.

The institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, had on Tuesday after the incident, called an emergency meeting with the entire students where he officially broke the news.

Akande was said to have been declared missing after visiting one of the new generation banks on Monday evening to withdraw money with her ATM card in company with some of her friends.

But on getting to the gate of her hostel, she told her colleagues that she had forgotten to buy a recharge card for her mobile telephone.

“She went back but did not return. It was during the 11pm bed check that it was discovered that Ranti was not around,” a university source told one of our correspondents.

It was gathered that the Akande’s kidnappers had called her parents and demanded a ransom of N5m.

A police source confirmed this and noted that the police were liaising with MTN to track down the suspects who reportedly called from Ijebu area of Ogun State.

In a memo by the university, the management confirmed this development. Also, the institution’s Registrar, Mr. Babatunde Adebayo, confirmed the development to our correspondent in his office on Friday.

But he insisted that the students could not be said to have been kidnapped since there was no evidence to reach that conclusion yet.

He said, “I will not use the word kidnap because it is only the students involved that can tell us what exactly happened to them. So, until they come back, I may not be able to tell you whether they were kidnapped or not.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Sunday that the Divisional Police Officer, Ibafo Police Station, had informed the command of the abduction incidents.

“I’m not aware that two students of the university were kidnapped; I’m only aware of the female student. The DPO told me that she had been found but the parents had taken the girl to the hospital,” he said.

However, our correspondents gathered that due to this development, the university has beefed up security on the campus.

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2009/02/02/punchblackmailers-kidnappers-on-the-prowl-in-lagos/feed/ 0 Guess who has been selling weapons to Niger Delta insurgents? How about Nigerian Army Officers… http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/19/guess-who-has-been-selling-weapons-to-niger-delta-insurgents-how-about-nigerian-army-officers/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/19/guess-who-has-been-selling-weapons-to-niger-delta-insurgents-how-about-nigerian-army-officers/#comments Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:57:35 +0000 Naija Pundit http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=817 Glad to see that justice has been brought to bear on these guys. However, I am still a bit confused as to how 7,000 “machine guns, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades” can be stolen from the Army, but then again, stranger things have been known to happen.

Ultimately, life in prison is a befitting punishment, but at times like these, maybe, just maybe the death penalty is a better alternative…

From the BBC:

A military court in Nigeria has sentenced six soldiers to life in prison for selling thousands of guns to suspected Niger Delta oil militants.

A judge said the soldiers, led by Maj Suleiman Akubo, had sold some 7,000 weapons including machine guns, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Officials have linked the case to Henry Okah, the suspected leader of the most prominent militant group.

The militants have caused major disruption to Nigerian oil production.

Mr Okah, who was arrested last year, is thought to lead the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend).

The convicted soldiers were accused of stealing the weapons over a number of years and selling them to militants including Mr Okah’s brother, the judge said.

The court also convicted and demoted a colonel and two corporals for gun running.

Mend claims to be fighting for greater control over oil wealth in Nigeria’s impoverished Delta region.

But observers say many militants profit from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.

Posted by Naija Pundit

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/19/guess-who-has-been-selling-weapons-to-niger-delta-insurgents-how-about-nigerian-army-officers/feed/ 0 Shell Contains (yet another) Spill After Pipeline Sabotage in Nigeria. http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/14/shell-contains-yet-another-spill-after-pipeline-sabotage-in-nigeria/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/14/shell-contains-yet-another-spill-after-pipeline-sabotage-in-nigeria/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:33:27 +0000 Naija Pundit http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=689 My question is a very simple one. How much does it cost Shell per annum to repair the pipeline after each act of vandalism?

This latest act was one where a hacksaw was used, a hacksaw for crying out loud. Furthermore, this pipeline alone has been sabotaged 19 times in the last 12 months alone.

Would it not make more sense for the FGN to revise its revenue allocation forumla so that the people from whose communities the oil is obtained get the bulk of the revenue and not the other way round? Once the community sees that oil is a source of wealth and not punishment, it is highly unlikely that acts of sabotage shall persist…

From AFP:

LAGOS (AFP) — Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell said Friday it has contained a spill caused by sabotage on its Adibawa delivery line in southern Bayelsa state.

“There was a hacksaw cut on the delivery line,” which led to a spill, Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo told AFP in a text message.

He said the spill had been contained and that a clean-up of the impacted area was in progress.

Okolobo said the Adibawa delivery line had been sabotaged 19 times in the past year alone.

Sabotage at Shell’s facilities in the restive oil-rich Niger Delta has resulted in huge production losses for the company in the past three years.

Nigeria’s total production currently stands at around two million barrels a day against 2.6 million barrels in 2006. 

Posted by Naija Pundit

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/14/shell-contains-yet-another-spill-after-pipeline-sabotage-in-nigeria/feed/ 0 Video- MEND in action… http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/10/video-mend-in-action/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/10/video-mend-in-action/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:08:31 +0000 Naija Pundit http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=648 Found this floating on the internet. First time I’ve seen footage of MEND members in action. I don’t know about you, but I think anyone who wears red to go into battle is looking to get a bullet in his cranium…

There is a reason the Nigerian army wear earth colors…

 

 

Posted by Naija Pundit

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/10/video-mend-in-action/feed/ 0 Great Multimedia Presentation- Shadows and Light: Oil, Power, and the Niger Delta. http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/08/great-multimedia-presentation-shadows-and-light-oil-power-and-the-niger-delta/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/08/great-multimedia-presentation-shadows-and-light-oil-power-and-the-niger-delta/#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:07:24 +0000 Naija Pundit http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=632

Kashi: Where we rounded another corner, and there was a woman who had come, and she had a piece of coconut, and there were like seven or eight children just around her screaming, and she was breaking off little pieces for them because they were hungry and that might have been sort of the first food they had had that day.

Hey, President Yar’Adua, how about we spend public funds on ensuring this woman and her kids get food to eat instead of sending people to pray in Mecca, when they can pray in the privacy of their own homes? That would be a judicious use of public funds, don’t you think?

Hmmmm

To go directly to the multimedia piece, click here

Posted by Naija Pundit

 

Photographer Ed Kashi has documented the stark contradictions between the abundance of Nigeria’s oil and the poverty that overshadows daily life in the Niger Delta. Asume Isaac Osuoka is an advocate for transparency and accountability, and works to ensure that extractive industry revenues benefit the people who live amid Nigeria’s vast natural resource wealth. In this multimedia piece produced by OSI and partner Revenue Watch Institute, Kashi and Osuoka describe the struggles of the Niger Delta’s citizens and the dire need for fair and responsible revenue management.

 

Transcript: Shadows and Light—Oil, Power, and the Niger Delta

 

The following is a transcript of the OSI multimedia piece Shadows and Light: Oil, Power, and the Niger Delta. Asume Issac Osuoka, director of the NGO Social Action, and photographer Ed Kashi provide the narration.

Osuoka: It is a very sad irony that communities in the Niger Delta that sit atop huge oil and gas deposits have gotten nothing really in return. Rather than any wealth or benefits. What the community members have been getting is impoverishment, diseases, death, destruction of their livelihoods.

Kashi: Where we rounded another corner, and there was a woman who had come, and she had a piece of coconut, and there were like seven or eight children just around her screaming, and she was breaking off little pieces for them because they were hungry and that might have been sort of the first food they had had that day.

Osuoka: Pipelines and flow lines crisscross the landscape. At every moment as we speak a pipeline that is old and corroded has given way and is spilling crude into the fragile environment.

Fishes just disappear. Fishing was the mainstay of the local economy. In the 70s, fishes were everywhere. It was so easy, just get to the stream, and you just catch, you know, father and their sons and mothers just go to the stream in the morning and just catch fishes for the day. But I tell that today all that is gone.

Kashi: You have the oil works butted up against where the people live. And the smoke and the fumes that come from those flares are quite noxious.

Osuoka: Government has made so much promises and failed over the past decades and they would not believe that a government can deliver, can be of service anymore. And it is difficult for the people to trust the oil companies because for 50 years the oil companies have only brought so much hardship.

Kashi: America takes 20 percent of Nigerian oil. That means virtually every time you put gas in your tank or you turn on a light switch you are burning Nigerian fuel.

Osuoka: The Nigerian government has been receiving over $50 billion dollars annually from oil and gas exports. This increase in revenues has not resulted in any development in the Niger Delta.

The Nigerian government does not depend really on the taxation of its citizens. It depends on the rent from oil companies. It is the Nigerian people that have sustained the Nigerian society and Nigerian economy.

There are huge potentials for development if revenues from petroleum can be utilized for national development and improve healthcare, the roads, education.We will not fulfill this potential if citizens and communities do not participate in how government prioritizes projects and development decisions.

We need to put more pressure, mobilize, strengthen citizens to ensure that there’s more justice in the way revenues and budgets are managed. And until these issues are addressed at the constitutional level, at the political level, then whatever settlement of groups and individuals that is going on will not achieve everlasting peace.

Because peace can only be founded on justice.

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/08/great-multimedia-presentation-shadows-and-light-oil-power-and-the-niger-delta/feed/ 0 Vanguard:Nigerian troops ‘ll leave Niger Delta if normalcy returns—DHQ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/05/vanguardnigerian-troops-ll-leave-niger-delta-if-normalcy-returns%e2%80%94dhq/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/05/vanguardnigerian-troops-ll-leave-niger-delta-if-normalcy-returns%e2%80%94dhq/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:30:16 +0000 princess http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=566 THE Defence headquarters declared yesterday that the military would not stay a day longer in the Niger Delta once the task of restoring peace, normalcy and checkmating activities of criminals, illegal bunkerers, economic saboteurs assigned to it by the Federal Government, was achieved.
New Director of Defence Information, Col. Chris Jemiltola, at his maiden briefing in Abuja noted that the deployment of troops to the Niger Delta in particular and other trouble spots in the country was not something of joy to the government or the military because Nigeria cannot be at war with itself.

“But government took the decision to send troops there because the level of criminality, attacks on and destruction of economic assets which had grave effects on the nation’s economy and foreign investments became embarrassing and unacceptable to the country”.

“However, let me say that once the situation is assessed and it is felt there is no further need for the troops to be there, they will be withdrawn” the DDI said adding, “I think we should commend the officers and men of the military who have been mandated to leave behind, their homes, families and loved ones to go and work the fields to ensure that every Nigerian goes about peacefully in their own country”.

He continued, “We work for our political masters. Not until a decision is taken concerning peace, we will only take directives from the Commander in Chief”.

Col. Jemitola who was the immediate past Aide De Camp (ADC) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, disclosed further that because of the patriotic efforts of the Joint Task Forces in the various trouble spots in the country, economic activities have returned to the Niger Delta and other areas and that people are going back to their normal lives.

“There is a check on illegal bunkering now. Criminality has gone down to the barest minimum in recent past and there is mutual respect for all citizens”, he said.

Also speaking at the occasion, Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Emeka Onwuamegbu said, “It does not matter where Nigerian troops are sent, be it Niger Delta, North East of South West, the important thing is that in internal security situations, when crisis get out of hand and the police is handicapped, the military can be called in”.

“We (Military) don’t just wake up and get into trouble spots. We work for the federal government of Nigeria. Wherever the government ask us to go, we go. We are well trained, motivated and we have the capacity to carry out any tasks assigned to us”.

On peace enforcement operations, Gen. Emeka said, “Nigerian Army today is one of the largest contributors of troops in peacekeeping operations.

We have military observers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are not there as formed troops. If their lives are in danger, the UN will pull them out”.

Regarding Somalia, Emaka said, “We have prepared a unit of troops for deployment as requested by the United Nations. But logistics are being put in place and once these logistics are ready, we would then deploy”.

On his part, Director of Information at Naval headquarters, Commodore David Nabaida explained the situation in Niger Delta thus, “What is happening in the area is that the level of criminality there is having direct and negative impact in foreign investments for the country.

With the Gulf of Guinea and the investment opportunities it would bring to the country, the presence of the military would stabilize the situation and ensure that Nigeria derives maximum benefits”.

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/11/05/vanguardnigerian-troops-ll-leave-niger-delta-if-normalcy-returns%e2%80%94dhq/feed/ 0 Thisday:Saro-Wiwa: Outrage in Ogoniland over Useni’s Remarks http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/29/thisdaysaro-wiwa-outrage-in-ogoniland-over-useni%e2%80%99s-remarks/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/29/thisdaysaro-wiwa-outrage-in-ogoniland-over-useni%e2%80%99s-remarks/#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:05:28 +0000 princess http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=484 General Jeremiah Useni may have stirred the hornet, nest as his alleged justification of the killing of late Ken Saro-Wiwa by the regime of General Sani Abacha , has drawn the ire of the people of the Niger Delta.
Ogoni Youths Council (OYC) led by Marvin Yobana yesterday gave Useni a seven-day ultimatum to either apologise over his reported justification of the killing or face legal action for the murder of the late activist.
This is coming as the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) described Useni’s statement as most unfortunate for a person of his standing, describing it as “disappointing and irresponsible.”
MOSOP which spoke through its Information Officer, Mr. Bari-ara-Kpalap, insisted that there was no way the extra-judicial murder of Saro-Wiwa could be justified since he did not kill anyone. He pointed out that the attitude of the likes of Useni makes it difficult for the wounds of the past injustice to the region to heal. Yobana, on his part, said Ogoni youths were not surprised that he could make such a statement since they had long known of his alleged involvement in the conspiracy which led to the killings of their prominent men.
He insisted that the only thing that would assuage their anger was for him to make a public apology renouncing his unfortunate statement against the spirit and soul of their loved and respected ones.According to him the statement by Useni coming when it did was like reopening old wounds which people like President Olusegun Obasanjo tried to heal.
“The former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, tried his best to reconcile the Ogonis. He sponsored a unity hall in memory of those fallen heroes. If the government sees them as criminals, why would the president come all the way to do that?
“We are giving Jeremiah Useni seven working days to tender his unreserved apology to the Ogonis and the entire Niger Delta, otherwise we will institute a legal proceeding against him at the international and national courts for him to be arrested and tried for human rights violations and for his part in the crime of judicial murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the others, ” Yobana warned.

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/29/thisdaysaro-wiwa-outrage-in-ogoniland-over-useni%e2%80%99s-remarks/feed/ 0 Vanguard:Shell Nigeria output drops to 412,000 b/d http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/14/vanguardshell-nigeria-output-drops-to-412000-bd/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/14/vanguardshell-nigeria-output-drops-to-412000-bd/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:37:59 +0000 princess http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=428 CRUDE oil output of Nigeria’s largest upstream oil and gas exploration and production company, Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN), has dropped from an all time high in excess of 1.0 million barrels per day to an average 412,000 barrels per day owing to militancy in the Niger Delta and funding constraints.

Similarly, operating expenditure of the group in the country has gone up sharply recording $6.99 per barrel in 2007, with security costs alone accounting for $4.29 per barrel during the period under review.

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), one of the companies in the SCiN group and operator of the NNPC/SPDC Joint Venture estimates that out of the average 412,000 barrels per day production projected for this year, 275,550 b/d would come from the Bonny Light system.

A United Kingdom based publication, Menas Associates disclosed however, that another planning scenario shows that output could be static at about current levels for over two years and gas production could suffer as a consequence.

The 2008 figures represent a further deterioration in production performance in recent years. In 2007 the production of crude ‘lost’ or deferred amounted to an average of 614,000 b/d.

In 2006 the volume deferred as a result of third parties and operations amounted to 528,000 b/d.
It was gathered that even though there has been some success in the restoration of some output volume in the badly hit Western division of Shell operations, where approximately 200,000 b/d of capacity has been restarted, security conditions in the Niger Delta remains challenging.

For instance, it now appears certain that the Forcados rehabilitation programme will be extended into 2009 and the big challenge to come is the re-opening of the key Trans-Ramos pipeline which sustained damage at seven key points.

Other restoration work scheduled for 2008 includes the re-opening of four of the company’s key facilities – Benisede, Opukushi, Tunu and Jones creek all in the third quarter of this year.

The restoration programme also includes the Forcados terminal and the repair of Flow-lines in the highly vulnerable northern swamp area.

Left in abeyance till 2009 are the restoration of six key facilities – Odidi 1, Odidi 2, Egwa 1, Egwa 2, Batan and Ogbotobo.

Faced with funding constraints, the big challenge for the Shell in Nigeria would be how to continue restoration work when the NNPC has not contributed its counterpart JV funding.

Vanguard also learnt that as with all other operators, Shell cannot suspend its activities until funding issues are sorted out, an indication it may have to carry out these expenditures in the hope of later recovery.

Meanwhile, SPDC’s planning is also challenged by an escalation in its operating cost as a result of the Niger Delta crisis.

Figures show that cost per barrel jumped in 2007 as the production shut-ins took effect in the Western division.

SPDC calculates that the company’s per barrel cost averaged $6.99 per barrel in 2007 in which security costs accounted for $4.29 per barrel.

Even without the impact of the Niger Delta crisis, there are indications that operating expenditure (opex) costs are rising due to the increased cost of managing recovery from some reservoir.

For 2008, the SPDC had proposed a JV budget of $5.3 billion but the NNPC through NAPIMS capped spending at $2.94 billion.

The unexpectedly low ceiling is indicative there will be little oil and gas growth by SPDC in 2008 while the flares down programme would be impacted by the lack of funds.

A government official justified the shorter budget citing security challenges in the Niger Delta operating environment.

Similarly, NAPIMS and Shell agreed that larger volumes may be shut-in in the course of the year owing to the activities of insurgents in the area.

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/14/vanguardshell-nigeria-output-drops-to-412000-bd/feed/ 0 Thisday:Julius Berger Denies Kidnap of Expatriate Staff http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/13/thisdayjulius-berger-denies-kidnap-of-expatriate-staff/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/13/thisdayjulius-berger-denies-kidnap-of-expatriate-staff/#comments Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:57:57 +0000 princess http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=369 Following media reports at the weekend that Niger Delta militants kidnapped an expatriate engineer with construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, the organisation has denied that any of its expatriate staff was kidnapped.
Speaking last night, the organisation’s Public Relations Advisor, Mr Clement Iloba, debunked the report saying that none of its expatriate member of staff was kidnapped by militants.
The report had alleged that the expatriate’s vehicle ran into a checkpoint mounted by the militants at a sharp bend on his way to Uyo where the militants allegedly blocked his vehicle and held him at gun-point.
He was further alleged to have been dragged out of the vehicle and driven to an unknown destination.
Media reports had quoted a Public Relations Officer of the organisation, Mr Gabriel Ngban, as having confirmed the story.
But Iloba refuted the claims as well as the confirmation by the said PRO maintaining that there was no such kidnap of any of the company’s staff.

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/13/thisdayjulius-berger-denies-kidnap-of-expatriate-staff/feed/ 0 Thisday: Militants Kidnap Expatriate with Julius Berger http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/12/thisdaymilitants-kidnap-expatriate-with-julius-berger/ http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/12/thisdaymilitants-kidnap-expatriate-with-julius-berger/#comments Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:49:27 +0000 princess http://www.my-nigeria.com/?p=348 The war against militants declared by Akwa Ibom State government yesterday suffered a set back as an expatriate engineer with renowned construction firm, Julius Berger was kidnapped by militants operating in the state.
Thisday gathered that the militants kidnapped the foreigner, whose name could not be ascertained as at press time, along Abak–Uyo road when his vehicle ran into a checkpoint mounted by the militants at a sharp bend.
The victim, whose company is handling the construction of major roads in Akwa Ibom State, including a new Governor’s Lodge, was on his way to Uyo, the state capital when the incident occurred.
Sources said the driver of the utility vehicle, a Hilux Van which the Julius Berger worker travelled in, was helpless as the militants blocked the vehicle and immediately held them at gun-point.
The expatriate was quickly dragged out of the vehicle, pushed into the militants’ car and driven to an unknown destination.
A staff of Julius Berger who did not give his name admitted that the company was aware of the development.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Gabriel Ngban confirmed the report , saying one of the militants has been arrested while the release of the expatriate is being worked on.

]]> http://www.my-nigeria.com/2008/10/12/thisdaymilitants-kidnap-expatriate-with-julius-berger/feed/ 0