Pirates have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta and kidnapped the foreign crew, reports say.

John Obi Mikel’s brother admits he is still in the dark as to the whereabouts of their father, who has been abducted in Nigeria.

CHELSEA midfielder John Obi Mikel played in Sunday’s draw at Stoke despite knowing his father had been abducted back in his Nigeria homeland.

At least 20 people were killed in Nigeria today when a cable fell on to a bus and electrocuted passengers inside, police said.

THREE top Nigerian militant leaders in the volatile oil hub of the Niger Delta gave up their weapons along with thousands of fighters on Saturday under a government amnesty.

A kidnapped British oil worker was enjoying his first full day of freedom today after being released from nine months in captivity in Nigeria.

Kidnappers snatched a Scottish oil worker in southern Nigeria, killing a police escort, it emerged today.

A British ex-pat has been kidnapped in Nigeria, according to reports today.

Kidnappers have released the older brother of Everton and Nigeria defender Joseph Yobo after almost two weeks in captivity.

THE brother of Everton football player Joseph Yobo was kidnapped on Saturday by armed men in Port Harcourt, the capital of Nigeria’s southern oil-producing region, police said yesterday.

A petrol tanker crashed into a Nigerian military convoy, killing nearly four dozen soldiers hours after they returned from peacekeeping duties in Sudan’s Darfur region, the military said today.

A fuel tanker caught fire on a busy road in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s southern oil region, today and dozens of people were feared dead, police said.

Two children aged five and six have become the latest kidnap victims of oil company ransom gangs in Nigeria.

Five men were today charged with the kidnapping of a British oil worker in Nigeria.

Gunmen kidnapped an American oil-industry worker as he travelled to work today in Nigeria’s southern oil region, police said.

Gunmen shot and wounded an American professor and a security guard today at a newspaper office in oil-rich southern Nigeria, according to a man who arrived just after the incident.

A British toddler kidnapped by Nigerian gunmen has been reunited with her parents.

The mother of a three-year-old British girl who was snatched in Nigeria said the kidnappers phoned and threatened to kill her daughter.

Kidnappers snatched a three-year-old British girl from her vehicle as it carried her to school today in Nigeria’s lawless southern oil region, officials said.

Kidnappers snatched the three-year-old daughter of a British expatriate worker as she was being taken to school today in Nigeria’s restive southern oil region, police said.

A group of gunmen wearing security force uniforms invaded a compound in southern Nigeria and kidnapped four foreign oil workers without firing a shot, police said today.

Hostage-takers have released a toddler, its nanny and a driver kidnapped four days ago in Nigeria's oil-rich south, police said today.

A road accident involving three passenger buses left at least 25 people dead in Nigeria, police said.

Eight foreign hostages seized by gunmen from an offshore vessel in southern Nigeria today have been released, the militant group that organised the kidnappings said.

Unidentified gunmen attacked a police station on voting day today in Nigeria’s restive oil region, leaving the building in ashes and three police officers reportedly dead, community leaders said.

Hostage-takers today released a British captive, taken in a raid last month in Nigeria’s southern oil region, because the man was sick, officials said.

Gunmen kidnapped five Chinese workers who were fixing overhead telephone lines in southern Nigeria, officials said.

An explosion occurred outside a government building in Nigeria's southern oil hub of Port Harcourt today, according to a reporter on the scene.

Several foreign oil workers have been kidnapped in Nigeria, security officials said.

The Galway engineer who was held hostage in Nigeria for a fortnight has arrived back in Ireland.

The Galway man who was held hostage in Nigeria for 10 days is flying to London today to be reunited with his family.

The family of an Irish oil worker kidnapped in Nigeria 10 days ago were today celebrating after he was released unharmed.

The Irish engineer kidnapped in southern Nigeria earlier this month has been released by his captors.

Six foreigners kidnapped in a nightclub raid in Nigeria’s southern oil region have been released.

Nigerian militants have released four foreign oil workers they had been holding hostage since last week.

A 39-year-old Irishman is still being held by Nigerian militants today after he was abducted in the city of Port Harcourt on Sunday night.

A 39-year-old Irishman has been taken hostage in Nigeria.

A Briton was confirmed to be among four people kidnapped from Nigerian night club last night, police say.

All six kidnapped British oil workers in Nigeria have been released, it was announced today.

Two kidnapped British oil workers have been released in Nigeria and six more hostages who are still being held are expected to be set free later today.

Petrol gushing from a ruptured Nigeria pipeline caught fire today as villagers scavenged for free fuel, sparking an inferno that killed up to 200 people and left charred bodies scattered around the site.

A Nigerian court today handed down prison sentences to four men for the 2005 kidnapping of two British oil workers, the prosecution said.

Investigators are probing the source of a fire that was still blazing today on a ruptured Royal Dutch Shell oil pipeline in southern Nigeria as the company announced further petroleum production cuts.

Authorities have grounded Boeing 737 planes across Nigeria for spot safety checks, stranding thousands of travellers today around Africa’s most populous nation after two deadly accidents in two months.