12 construction workers kidnapped in Nigeria

An armed group kidnapped 12 workers at a South Korean company’s power plant construction site in Nigeria today.

The kidnappers broke into accommodation facilities and drove the workers - eight Filipinos, three South Koreans and a Nigerian – away in a stolen vehicle at 2am local time from Afam power station, about 20 miles north-east of Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s southern oil hub, said a statement from Daewoo Engineering and Construction.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnapping, and said it was unclear what the captors were demanding. The gunmen had not yet presented demands, a Daewoo official said.

Gunshots were fired during a 30-minute assault, the Daewoo official said.

Unrest has plagued Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta region for years, and in recent months armed militants have stepped up a campaign against the oil industry, blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers. Most captives are released unharmed.

Today’s kidnappings were the latest involving South Korean workers in Nigeria. In January, nine Daewoo employees were released after being kidnapped by an armed group. Last June, three Daewoo employees and two others were freed after a day in captivity.